


Where I Belong

by bjfic_archivist



Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-09-08
Updated: 2006-09-21
Packaged: 2018-12-26 20:56:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 46,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12066834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bjfic_archivist/pseuds/bjfic_archivist
Summary: There is a death in Brian's family. Little did he know that it would be the death of that person that would end up revealing secrets. As the truth unravels, Brian is more determined than ever to open himself up to new opportunities of love and friendship.





	1. Skeletons Out of the Closet

**Author's Note:**

> Note from IrishCaelan, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Brian/Justin Fanfiction Archive](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Brian_Justin_Fanfiction_Archive). To preserve the archive, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in September 2017. I posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [The Brian/Justin Fanfiction Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/bjfic/profile).

  
Author's notes: This story has been re-edited, and some parts have been rewritten.   


* * *

Brian stood alone, huddled under his umbrella, taking a deep drag of the first of many joints he had rolled for himself that day. The snow had just started falling, and though he was bundled up for the cold weather, it was freezing enough to just barely stand being outside. And though his nose, cheeks and ears were red with cold, his eyes glassy, and his nose a little runny, none of it phased Brian. 

Not wanting to be around the others, Brian had finally went off by himself to be alone. He couldn't let them see how hard this was on him. Yes. Jack was dead. And even though his father had beat him senseless for years, he still couldn't bring himself to totally hate the man. Brian wondered why it was that he still loved his father, despite his childhood HELL. Dealing with his father's mental, emotional, and physical abuse had taken so much out of him, but he had always held out the hope that one day Jack would finally tell his only son that he was sorry for hurting him, and that he loved him. That never happened. It was now inevitable that he would never ever hear those words. 

He almost felt like he should have been out celebrating, instead of there, at the funeral. The fucking bastard who helped to make him the cold, selfish asshole he'd become, was now being lowered into the ground. Brian felt a single tear roll down his cheek, as he slowly exhaled the smoke from his lungs. He wasn't sure whether he was crying or if it was cold weather making his eyes water. He guessed it didn't matter. He felt a hand on his shoulder and knew who was behind him without even looking. 

"Are you all right?" Michael asked. Brian didn't answer him, he just nodded and took another hit from his joint, then offered it to his friend. 

"No thanks," Michael told him, shaking his head. "Everyone is starting to head back over to the house now. Are you coming?" he asked. 

Brian didn't really want to go to the Luncheon. He really just wanted to go home, get drunk, fuck a trick, get more drunk, and then pass out. Still, he heard himself say, "Yeah, I'll meet you at the jeep in a minute." Michael nodded his head and started walking away, giving one last concerned glance at his best friend. 

Brian stood in that same spot for a few more minutes, trying to get himself together. He needed to put his hard face back on, and act like he didn't give a shit that his father just died. He put out his joint, which was now a roach, and placed it into his Marlboro box, and took a cigarette out for himself and lit it. He slowly made his way back to his jeep, where he knew Michael would be waiting for him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The luncheon had been about as bad as Brian expected it to be. His sister, Claire was a blubbering mess, which annoyed both Brian and his mother to no end. Joan spent the entire event getting drunk on wine. The worst was when Claire suggested that everyone share something nice about Jack, but no one could remember a single nice memory of him. There was only this really long, awkward silence. 

Brian's friends had come to support him, but he really wished that they hadn't. The last thing he wanted was for everyone to see firsthand, how his dysfunctional family really was, and feel even more sorry for him. He could imagine them huddled together whispering amongst each other, "Oh, poor Brian... no wonder he is the way he is..." 

The only person out of his friends who really knew what it was like for him as a child, was Michael. He was there to see and hear it all. The others really had no idea how it was for him growing up in that house. He breathed a sigh of relief when Lindsay finally came up to him and whispered that she and the others were going to leave. 

"If there's anything you need, just call, okay?" Lindsay told Brian, pulling him in a tight hug. 

He nodded at her. "Hey, listen, Linds. I, uh..." he started and then paused and gave a little smile. Lindsay nodded and smiled back at him. 

"Yeah, I know," Lindsay responded. 

Yes, indeed, she did know. Brian had never been good with words. It was okay though; he had always been that way, and she really didn't need the words. She knew that it was Brian's way of saying thank you for being there for him and supporting him. Lindsay kissed his cheek, and left with their other friends. 

Pretty soon, the guests had all cleared out, and there was nothing but silence, leftover food, paper plates and cups, everywhere. Claire had volunteered to help clean up, but Joan insisted that she leave, especially if she was going to continue sobbing the rest of the day. Brian had noticed that he hadn't seen Joan shed one tear. Perhaps she was like him, and was saving it for when no one was around. Years of practice of hiding your true emotions is a hard habit to break. 

Brian sat alone on the sofa, smoking a cigarette and staring at the bowling ball his mother insisted that he take which belonged to Jack. He saw his mother walking towards him. Her eyes looked red and tired, and Brian briefly wondered if she had finally allowed herself to grieve in private since everyone had left. 

"Brian," Joan called out softly to her son. Brian looked up at her with a questioning look. 

"I need to discuss something with you," Joan said. 

"Look, Mom, I already told you that I would help you with the Mortgage and some of the hospital bills. What else do you want?" Brian asked annoyed. 

Joan looked slightly wounded by her son's tone and what he was insinuating, but still kept her nonchalant face on. "This has nothing to do with money, Brian," she said quietly, and then just stared down at her hands. And then nothing. 

"Are you going to fucking tell me already?" Brian said, getting impatient. 

Joan frowned at Brian's cursing, but then continued. "Your father... Jack and I, had a very long talk about a week before he died," Joan said. 

"Yeah, and?" Brian asked, still impatient. 

"Well, the thing is, there were a lot of things your father didn't know about me. I had secrets... and well, he surprised me, by telling me he knew two of my biggest secrets," Joan told him. 

"What, that your hair is not really blond, and you actually weigh 10 pounds more than what you tell everyone else?" Brian smirked. 

"Brian, please. I'm trying to tell you something important," Joan said, getting exasperated with her son. He was always so difficult to talk to. It was no wonder they weren't close. 

"Well, will you just get on with it? I have plans tonight," Brian told her. He couldn't wait to make his escape. He could almost feel himself sinking his cock in some twink's tight little ass. 

Joan sighed, and then looked at her son. She looked as though she were hesitant to say what she wanted. "Jack informed me that he knew that before you were born, I was having an affair," Joan told Brian. This piece of information surprised her son, but he still didn't know what it had to do with him. 

"Wow, I never thought Saint Joan had it in her," he told her. 

Joan got a disgusted look on her face at that comment. "I can't believe how much you sound like Jack sometimes," Joan said. 

Brian slightly flinched at that thought. "So what does your little fling with some other guy have to do with me?" he asked. 

"Jack also told me that he knew that you were not his son," Joan practically whispered. 

Brian's eyes shot open widely at his mother. She had his full attention now. Emotions started running through him, and then suddenly he felt as if he had a million questions going through his mind all at once. 

"What did you just say?" he asked with a shaky voice. 

"Jack Kinney was not your biological father, Brian," Joan said, still avoiding Brian's eyes. 

Suddenly Brian was filled with anger. "What the fuck do you mean, Jack is not my father?" he yelled. 

"Brian, there is no need to raise your voice --" Joan said before Brian interrupted. 

"You just fucking told me that the only man I've ever known as my dad, is not really... Fuck, everything that I have ever believed - my LIFE - it's all a lie!" Brian said, getting more upset the more he thought about it. 

"Brian..." Joan tried to say, but her son wouldn't let her get a word in edgewise. 

"Does he know? Does my real father know that I exist?" Brian asked. Joan sighed and shook her head. 

"No. When I found out I was pregnant with you, I told him I couldn't see him anymore. I told him that I was married. He had no idea..." Joan said. 

"You didn't even tell him that you were married?" Brian asked incredulously. Joan looked down at her hands again, guiltily and shook her head no. 

"It was against my religion to get divorced. I couldn't leave Jack, and my family would have disowned me if they found out I had a baby with another man," Joan explained. 

"Well, wasn't it against your religion to fuck other men while you were married? Isn't that worse than getting a divorce? Holy shit, Mom, I never knew a bigger fucking hypocrite than you," Brian spat. 

"Now just a minute, young man. Don't you sit there and judge me. You don't know how it was for me back then. I was miserable in my marriage to Jack. I had no idea that he was the way he was when I married him. I didn't know he was an alcoholic, and a gambler, and a cheater. That's right, I wasn't the only one who cheated in our marriage. He did it for years. He didn't think I knew about it, but I always did. I could still smell them on him when he came home at night." Joan frowned. It hurt to get into all this right now, but she continued. 

"Then, I met Daniel. He was so different from Jack. Generous, understanding, considerate. He and I saw each other for 6 months. I was in love with him. I just didn't know how to give him up, so I just lied to both of them," Joan said, as a tear ran down her cheek. 

"When I found out I was pregnant, I knew there was no way getting around it. I had to stop seeing him. So I told him that I was married, and I went back to your father. I tried really hard to make things work with Jack." 

Brian sat there and stared at his mother, still in disbelief. He couldn't believe everything that she was telling him. It all seemed like a dream. 

"So why didn't Jack ever say anything?" Brian asked. 

"I asked him that. He said it was because he still had Claire to consider. He felt he needed to stay with me if we had a child together. He said he couldn't just leave us all alone. He knew I had no source of income, and that I had you two to take care of. So he just pretended like he never knew," Joan said. 

It was then when it hit Brian like a shot to the brain. He could feel the adrenaline traveling through his veins, and he clenched his teeth and he stared coldly at his mother as this realization came to surface. 

"He DIDN'T pretend, Mom. He fucking took it out on ME!" Brian yelled. Everything suddenly made sense to him now. "That was it, wasn't it, Mom? He couldn't stand the fucking sight of me because he knew that you screwed some other guy and I wasn't his son! I wasn't the son he always wanted!" Brian stood up and started throwing anything he could get his hands on, across the room. Joan looked at him with wide eyes, her fear growing by the second. 

"No, Brian. It wasn't like that --" Joan cried. Brian got into his mother's face so that he was eye level with her. 

"Don't fucking tell me it wasn't like that. Jack used to get this look in his eyes when he would yell at me. I swear, sometimes it looked as if he hated me. Hated the fact that I existed! He beat the shit out of me all those fucking years, and most of the time there was no good reason for it. He just couldn't stand me. And now I know why," Brian said under his breath, and then started pacing the room, trying to calm himself down. 

Joan was sobbing now, her black mascara running all over her face. "Brian," she called. "He had something he wanted me to tell you after he died," Joan said. Brian looked back at his mother in curiosity. He stared at her and waited for her to answer. 

"Jack said that he thought that after he passed on, that I should tell you the truth, which is why he told me he knew about my secrets. He wanted me to tell you that even though he knew he was awful to you when you were growing up, that he was sorry. He said that he loved you like his own son, but that his drinking and the jealousy of me being with another man always took over him, and that is why he was the way he was with you," Joan said. 

Brian shook his head. Was this just another mindfuck from Jack? Did he want Joan to tell him all of this so that he could figure out for himself why Jack hated him so much, and to make him hate his mother as well, and think bad of her? He so wanted to believe that Jack really did love him. He had always wanted the confirmation of that. He just never expected to hear it this way. 

"I don't know what to believe anymore, Mom," Brian said shaking his head at her. "You've been lying to me my whole life. Why shouldn't I think you just made up this apology of Jack's so that I wouldn't feel so declined to forgive him for beating the shit out of me for being someone else's son? He's dead, Mom, and even now you're going to sit here and make excuses for his actions. Well, fuck you," Brian spat, his voice quivering, and tears now fell from his own eyes. He stood up and walked straight to the door, purposely leaving Jack's bowling ball behind. He didn't want it. 

"Brian, please don't leave like this," Joan pleaded. Brian turned around to face his mother. His face had turned from angry to devastated. 

"Mother, do you realize that because you lied all of those years, you prevented me from maybe having a life that was full of love instead of hate? You said that this guy you were with - Daniel - that he was a good man. I might have had a good life with him. It might have changed the way that I am, today," Brian said sadly, more tears falling. He hadn't cried in front of anyone in so long, but he couldn't stop it now. 

"Don't you realize what you've done? You ruined my life, Mom... I don't know if I can ever forgive you for that," Brian told her, and then turned around and left, leaving Joan to sit alone in a puddle and cry. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Brian didn't fuck a twink that night. He didn't want to see or talk to anyone. He did, however get drunk and stoned out of his mind and then passed out. All night the phone had been ringing off the hook. Michael, calling to ask if Brian was okay, and then again if he wanted to go out to Babylon or Woody's, and one more time to ask if he really was okay. Lindsay called once, as did Debbie. He couldn't believe the nerve, but even Joan had called. When he heard her voice, it took every fiber of his being not to yank the machine out of the wall and smash it into a hundred pieces. "She couldn't even give me a fucking 24-hour grace period? Bitch," Brian said out loud to himself. 

A couple of weeks had gone by, and Brian had kept all of what Joan had told him a secret. It wasn't as if he was purposely trying to be secretive, it was just that he was still processing it, and he really didn't want to discuss it with anyone yet. He had thought it to death already, he didn't want to relive everything through his friends' outraged reactions. He wasn't ready for that. 

He had spent a lot of time thinking the situation over, and had come to a decision. He was going to ask Joan for his biological father's full name, and anything else she knew about him. He was going to find him. This man, Daniel, deserved to know that Brian was his son, and Brian felt he deserved to meet the man. This had already been a secret for 29 years, it was time the cat was let out of the bag. 

Joan was cooperative when Brian called her, as he knew she would. She didn't want Brian to be upset with her anymore. She had so much guilt in her. She almost wanted to curse her dead husband for talking her into telling Brian the truth. She had a feeling that Jack knew how her son would react. Still, there also a sense of relief. The truth was out in the open now, and she no longer had to hide it or lie about it. It was only for that reason that she felt a weight lifted off of her shoulders. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Cynthia, I need you to do something really important for me," Brian said, shortly after walking into his office at Vanguard. His beautiful blond secretary looked at her boss and smiled. 

"Sure boss, what do you need?" she asked. 

Brian handed her a piece of paper. "I want you to find out everything you can about this man, Daniel Jenson. I don't have much to go on, right now. Only his date of birth and name. I want an address and phone numbers, if you can find them. I want to know where he works, if he works. Just try to get any information on this man that you can, okay?" Brian asked. 

"I'll do my best. Is this a potential client?" Cynthia asked. 

Brian stared at her a moment before answering, trying to decide what he should reveal, if anything at all. "No. This is more of a personal matter, actually. It's extremely important, though. I need to know this information ASAP. That is all I'm going to say for now, got it?" Brian said. 

"Got it," Cynthia said, knowing her boss well enough not to push him. She knew that Brian was a private person. He was pretty vague when it came to any topics of conversation outside of the office. 

Brian smiled and nodded his thanks to Cynthia, and went into his office and closed the door. As he sat in his office chair, he smiled, thinking of the information he might have before the day was over with. He had spent so much time thinking of Daniel, and he was starting to go crazy with curiosity. He wondered if they looked alike; was he smart - wait, of course he must be smart. Brian certainly didn't get it from Joan or Jack. He wondered if he had any half brothers and sisters. He wondered how they would all react when they found out about him. He wondered if he would be sent away. He needed to decide how he was going to play this. This was a very fragile situation, and he knew he had to be very careful how he went about the whole thing. He hoped that everything would fall into place. It was going to be difficult to concentrate on work that day. 


	2. Getting The 411

Brian's day had been pretty busy with meetings, so when he glanced at the clock and saw that it was already 4:30pm, he was surprised by how fast his day had went. He was about to start shutting down his computer when Cynthia came into his office. 

"Hey, boss, I believe I have some information that you've been waiting for," she told him with a bright smile. 

"You have no idea," he said, his eyes glued to some papers she held in her hands. "What were you able to find?" he asked. 

"Well, I wasn't able to find too much on Daniel Jenson myself. However, I did find out his place of business. He is the owner of O 'Connell's Bar and Grill. Because I couldn't find anything else on him, I called in a favor to my brother-in-law, who happens to be a P.I. He faxed me a bunch of information on this Jenson guy, including his home address." Cynthia handed over the papers, and Brian accepted them, holding them in his hands nervously. 

"Thanks, Cynthia. Look for a little added bonus in your next paycheck," he told her with a smile. 

"All I did was make a phone call, Brian. It was nothing," she insisted. 

"Don't discredit yourself. This information is very important, and you really came through for me. So, stop being so modest and think of me when you buy something really expensive," Brian said, winking at her. 

Cynthia just smiled at her boss and left his office. Brian could be a real asshole sometimes, but most people had no idea that he had a softer, generous side to him. Though some may have found it hard to believe, Brian Kinney did indeed have a heart. It just didn't surface very often. 

Brian stared at the papers in front of him, not reading anything except the name of the person whose information he wanted. Though he was dying of curiosity, there was a small part of him that felt a little guilty about looking into this man's personal business. He started to wonder if maybe he shouldn't look through it, and just write down Daniel Jenson's house and business address and throw the rest of the information away. Sighing, he stuffed the papers into his briefcase and finished clearing off his desk before he left for the day. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

A few hours later, Brian sat on his sofa, a glass of Jim Beam in one hand, and Daniel Jenson's information in the other. He still hadn't looked through it. He sighed, and then downed the liquid in his glass. He quickly stood up in search of one of his notepads and a pen. When he found what he was looking for, he jotted down two addresses and some phone numbers, then crumpled up the papers Cynthia had given him and tossed them into the trashcan. Anything he wanted to know he could ask the man himself. He went into the bathroom to take a quick shower, then got dressed and was out the door of his loft. 

The Jeep pulled into a parking lot that belonged to O'Connell's Bar and Grill. He stayed seated in his vehicle for a few minutes contemplating on whether or not he should be there. "Maybe I should have called instead of just showing up," he thought. He then thought about what he was going to do once inside the establishment. What would he say? He decided to just go in and play it by ear. 

Brian entered the restaurant and was immediately greeted by a pretty brunette in her early twenties, he assumed. She gave him a warm smile. 

"Hi, welcome to O 'Connell's. How many people in your party?" she asked. 

"Oh, uh, I just thought I'd grab a seat at the bar," Brian told her. 

"Sure, it's right through there," she said pointing to the bar, which was a large room off to the side, separated from the restaurant. "They serve dinner in there too, so if you want something to eat, be sure to ask for a menu," she told him. 

"Thanks, I might do that," he told her as he walked into the dim lighted room. He took a seat on one of the barstools. It was pretty quiet in there, since there weren't too many people. It seemed most everyone was in the restaurant part of the place. The parking lot had been pretty full. 

As he looked around the room, he immediately noticed a large framed black and white picture on the wall of a young man. Under the picture the name Patrick James O' Connell was engraved. He wondered if that man was of any relation to him. 

"What can I get you?" A voice asked. When Brian turned to the man to respond, he found himself staring into the most bluest eyes he'd ever seen. His cock stirred in his pants as he drank in the blond's beautiful features. 

'Your phone number, for starts,' Brian thought, as he eyed the handsome bartender. "Um, I'll have a Guinness," he told him. 

"Sure, coming right up," the blond said, smiling. Brian watched the young man's ass swaying as he walked away. When he returned with the beer, Brian handed the man a $10 bill. When the bartender turned to get his change, Brian stopped him. 

"Keep the change," he smiled. 

The blond looked at him suspiciously. "It's a big tip..." 

Brian raised an eyebrow at the the man, and he guessed from the expression on his face that the younger man knew it was no use arguing over it. 

"Thanks," he told Brian with a flustered smile. 

Brian only smiled in response. "This is some place," he said, trying to strike up conversation. 

Justin nodded. "I've never seen you here. First time?" the blond asked. 

"Yeah. It's nice. Is that the owner?" he asked motioning toward the picture he had been looking at. 

"Mr. O' Connell was the original owner. After he passed away 10 years ago, his grandson took over. He's been running it ever since." 

"I see. He isn't here by any chance, is he?" Brian asked casually. 

"No, Daniel left for the day. Is there a problem?" the blond asked with slightly furrowed brows. 

"No, nothing like that. I'm actually in advertising, and I thought I could talk to him about maybe giving his business a boost," Brian said, handing him his card. The man stared at it for a moment. 

"Well, Brian Kinney, that would be up to him, but I really don't think he'd be interested. We get pretty good business as it is. I doubt he'd take you up on it," he said and put the business card in his pocket. 

"You seem to know him pretty well," Brian observed. 

"Yeah, you could say that." That statement roused Brian's curiosity, but he decided not to push the subject. He didn't want the young man to get upset by his asking too many questions. 

"Well, I think I'd like to meet the man, nevertheless. It never hurts to ask," Brian said. 

"He'll be here tomorrow evening. But, I really do think you're wasting your time, mister," the blond replied. 

"Thanks for the warning. Can I have a menu please? The pretty girl at the front door said that you guys serve dinner in here." 

"Sure," the blond replied, pulling a menu out from under the counter and placing it in front of Brian. "The Ribeye steak sandwich is the Special tonight. It's pretty good," he suggested. 

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Brian said as he skimmed the menu. He looked up at the young man and noticed that he was looking past him and frowning. 

"Shit," the man spat. Brian turned around to see what the blond was looking at, and saw a tall, good-looking man with dirty blond hair walking towards them. He sat a few barstools away from Brian. 

Brian watched as the bartender immediately walked over to the man who had just seated himself. 

"Alex, what are you doing here?" the blond demanded, obviously upset. 

"I came to see you. I know your shift ends soon, and I thought we could talk," the man said quietly. 

"I don't see what there's left to talk about, Alex. I told you I needed some time. I'd appreciate it if you left me alone," he told him. 

Brian pretended to be interested in the menu, but he couldn't help eavesdropping. He listened to the men talk as he continued to stare blankly at his menu. 

"Justin, please. I just want to talk. Will you please just give me 5 minutes?" the man asked, his voice desperate. 

Justin leaned over the bar and lowered his voice, trying not to arouse people's interest in what was going on. Brian strained to hear what they were saying. 

"Alex, just go home. I'm at work. This is not the time or place for this," Justin pleaded. 

"I miss you," the man whispered. Justin sighed and looked away from the other man. "We need to talk," Alex urged, earning him a glare from Justin. 

"If you want someone to talk to, I suggest you call the guy you were fucking for 6 months behind my back, while you played me for a fucking fool," Justin spat. 

Brian's ears perked up at that, and suddenly he felt like grabbing this Alex guy by the collar of his shirt and kicking his ass out the door. 

"I said I was sorry," Alex said in a muffled angry voice. 

"Your apologies don't mean shit to me right now. You lied to me. You fucked up. Now just leave," Justin said. 

"But... I love you. You still love me too, I know you do," Alex said. 

Brian rolled his eyes at that. Obviously the guy didn't love Justin if he fucked around on him for 6 months. Justin probably only found out because he caught the fucker in the act. 

"Yes, I love you. I can't just shut that off. I just don't fucking like you anymore," Justin told him sternly. 

Brian peeked a look at Alex and saw that he had tears in his eyes. Suddenly, the hostess that Brian saw when he first came in the door was over by them. 

"Alex, I think it's best if you leave," she said as she stood next to Justin. 

Defeated, Alex slumped his shoulders and started to walk away. He turned around once more and said "I love you, Justin," and left. The girl hugged Justin. 

"Thanks, Katie," he whispered, accepting the girl's hug. 

"I'm so sorry, Jay. Greg was covering the front, so I didn't see him come in..." she said. 

"It's not your fault," he told her. 

"Are you okay?" she asked. 

Justin nodded and sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just wish he'd stop doing this." 

"Look, your shift just ended. Why don't you go on home. I'll see you when I get off," she said, giving him a warm smile. He kissed her on the cheek. 

"Actually, I'm exhausted, I'm just going to crash. We'll talk in the morning, okay?" he told her. 

"Well, if you need to talk, you know where I live," she said with a smile and they both laughed. She then left to go back into room where the restaurant was. 

Brian had curiously observed the two. They were obviously close. He figured that they must have been roommates. 

Justin seemed lost in thought for a moment as he ran his hand through his hair. 

"She makes an excellent bodyguard," Brian said, breaking him away from his thoughts. 

Justin walked over to Brian, and looked at him with a slightly embarrassed expression. "I know you probably saw and heard everything that just happened. I'm sorry about that," Justin said in a soft voice. 

"Sorry's bullshit. You can't help it if your ex is an asshole. I think you handled yourself quite well, actually," Brian said. 

"Really? It didn't feel like it. I thought I was going to lose it," Justin admitted. 

"Well, it's a good thing you didn't because I might have had to step in and help you kick the guy's ass and risk getting blood all over my $300 Gucci shirt," Brian smirked. Justin laughed at him, and raised an eyebrow. 

"$300 shirt? You're kidding, right?" he asked incredulously. 

Brian shook his head. "It's true, I'm a label queen. My friends love to give me a hard time about it. But, I have the money, and I work hard for it, so why deprive myself of looking anything but my best?" he said, flashing his sexy smile. 

Justin shook his head and smiled back at him. "Whatever floats your boat, I guess," he said. "Did you decide on what you wanted to eat?" he asked. 

Brian closed the menu. "Actually, I changed my mind. I'm not really that hungry." He stood up from his barstool. "I'll probably stop by again tomorrow to talk to your boss," he told Justin. 

"All right. Well... have a good night," Justin told him with a smile. Brian's breath caught in his throat as he saw the blond's beautiful smile again. He'd never seen one so vibrant before. 

"You too," he answered, and left. He would come back tomorrow night, and hopefully Justin would be there again. In the meantime, he needed to find some relief. He got into his Jeep and headed straight for Babylon, where he knew he would be fantasizing about a certain blond in the back room while plowing into some faceless trick's ass. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Justin walked into his living space and threw his jacket and keys on his desk just before falling face first onto his bed. He covered his head with his pillow and felt like screaming. He had been feeling so stressed out the last couple of weeks because of everything that had happened in his relationship with Alex. He had school and work to help keep him busy and his mind off his problems, but lately he couldn't even do those things without getting stressed out, because Alex constantly called him and started showing up outside of his classes. This was the first time Alex had shown up at the restaurant while he was working. 

He could hear his answering machine on his nightstand beeping, and knew some, if not all of the messages would be from Alex. 

He sighed and then pressed the play button on his machine. There were three messages on there. One from Daphne, and sure enough, the other two were from Alex. His frustration took over and he grabbed his phone and dialed a number and waited for an answer. 

"Justin," Alex answered, his voice full of relief. 

"Yeah. You said you wanted to talk. So if this is the only way to get you to leave me alone for a while, then just say what you have to say so I can live my life in peace," Justin said. 

"I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am. For everything. I never wanted to hurt you. I don't love him. He doesn't mean anything to me," Alex said. His voice was cracking and Justin could tell he was crying. 

"Alex, if he doesn't mean anything to you, then why did you cheat on me with him for so long? I could maybe understand if it happened once, or maybe just a few times. But you were fucking him for six months. Six months! How the fuck can you even say you love me after that? That is not love, Alex. You lied. You know how important honesty is to me. I told you in the beginning that I despise liars, and that if you ever felt trapped in this relationship, or started to stray away, to just fucking tell me! And do you remember what you said to me?" Justin asked. 

"Yes," Alex whispered. 

"I don't think you do." 

"Justin, please," Alex sobbed. 

"You fucking promised me. You promised me that that would never happen. You said I had nothing to worry about. It's really my fault for being so naïve. I shouldn't have trusted you. You know, if you would have said you wanted an open relationship I might have been okay with that. At least you would have been honest about it." Justin felt a throbbing in his temples. This headache had been with him the whole day, and it was really starting to get unbearable. 

"Do you think you can eventually forgive me?" Alex asked. Justin almost laughed. 

"I really don't think so. No. I want to, but I just don't think I have it in me to go through this again. Once a cheater, always a cheater; and the same thing goes with liars. I can't trust you. I know that if I stayed with you it wouldn't work. I would be second guessing everything you did and said. It would drive me insane, and it would piss you off because you would be forever trying to prove your loyalty. Nothing can ever be the same between us again," Justin told him quietly, and felt his eyes start to tear up. 

"Look, Allie, this isn't easy for me. I was in love with you, you know. We were together for over a year. I thought that I made you happy. I really thought that you wanted to be with me. We even talked about maybe moving in together this summer," Justin choked. He was afraid of this. He knew once he allowed the tears to fall again that he would have trouble making them stop. 

"I love you, baby. You did make me happy. I swear to God, it wasn't you. It was me. I was a fucking idiot. I've never felt for anyone what I feel for you. I just... I couldn't say no to him. But I couldn't lose you, either. I would give anything to take it back, but I can't. It's done. I did it. Justin, I would still at least like to be friends. I don't want you out of my life." Alex sniffled. 

"Allie, it's been a long day. I can't talk about this anymore. I'm going to go to sleep. Please, just stop waiting for me after class, and coming into my work. If and when I talk to you again, it has to be on my own terms. I can't deal with this right now. Just give me time to get through this, and we'll see whether or not I can handle being friends with you. Okay?" 

"Whatever you want, Jus. Whatever it takes. I love you," Alex whispered. Justin hung up without answering. The tears flowed freely now, and his head hurt so bad. He heard a knocking on his door, and ignored it. 

"Justin," a man's voice called out. Justin quickly grabbed some tissues and wiped his face and blew his nose. 

"Just a minute," Justin called out. He took a quick look at himself in the mirror and frowned. He looked horrible. His face was all flushed and his eyes were puffy and bloodshot. He finally opened the door and avoided the eyes of the man standing in front of him. 

"Christ, what happened? You look like Hell. Are you okay?" the man said all at once, his face full of concern. 

"Oh, it's nothing for you to worry about. Alex stopped by work and I just had to call him to tell him to leave me alone," Justin told the older man. He opened the door wider to allow him to enter. 

"Do you think that maybe you should get a restraining order on him?" The man asked, pulling out the chair from Justin's desk and taking a seat. 

"No, I don't think he'll come back. At least I hope not. Besides, I have Katie to protect me. She came to my rescue tonight," Justin smiled. 

"Well, that's my daughter. Always looking out for the people she loves." 

"Yeah, she's just like her father," Justin said, giving him a knowing look. "You've always been there for me, Daniel. You don't know how much I appreciate everything you've done for me," Justin said softly. Daniel stood up and went to sit next to the younger man. 

"Yes, I do know. You've always shown your appreciation, Justin. You're just as much my child as the twins and Peter are. Even if we had never legalized it, you'd still always be like a son to me," Daniel told him, resting his hand on Justin's shoulder. Justin nodded and was silent for a moment. Daniel looked at him and could tell that the blond was seriously thinking about something. 

"Justin what is it?" he asked. 

"Well, I've been thinking. Maybe I should move out this summer. Get my own place," Justin told him. 

"Justin, I've already told you that Alice and I don't mind you living here. In fact, we're glad you're here. With Peter being grown up and having his own family now, and Ryan living in Harrisburg, it's just you and Katie left here at home. I know a room over the garage may not be much, but at least you don't have to worry about rent. With your car payments and school expenses I know it's one less thing for you to have to worry about. Just know that you're always welcome to stay here." 

"Thanks, Daniel. I'll think about it and let you know, okay?" Justin told him. Daniel nodded. 

"By the way, there was a man at work tonight asking for you," Justin said, suddenly remembering his conversation with the man at the bar. 

"Really? Who was it?" Daniel asked curiously. Justin dug out the business card from his pocket and handed it to him. 

"Brian Kinney. He is in advertising and wanted some business," Justin told him. 

"Kinney. I know that name," Daniel said thoughtfully, staring at the business card. He wondered if this Brian Kinney was in any way related to the woman he had known so many years ago. 

"Nice guy. A little too materialistic for my taste, but nevertheless a nice guy," Justin said. 

"Hmm. And he said he wanted some business? Is that all?" Daniel asked. 

Justin nodded."Uh-huh. I told him that you most likely wouldn't be interested, but he insisted that it wouldn't hurt to ask and said that he'd come by again tomorrow night." 

"Well, I guess I'll hear him out and see what he has to say. Did he seem legit?" 

"I couldn't be absolutely sure about that... however, he did say that if I had lost it with Alex that he would have risked tarnishing his precious $300 shirt to help kick his ass. So in my book, he seemed like a trustworthy kind of a guy," Justin laughed. Daniel laughed with him. 

"You're kidding. Now I'm really curious to meet this Brian Kinney," he chuckled. He stood up to leave and walked to the door. 

"Hey, son," Daniel called out to Justin. The younger man looked over at him. "I'm sorry things didn't work out between you and Alex. I know how much you cared about him," Daniel said softly. 

"Thanks. I'll be all right. I just need some time. Before you know it I'll be up to my old tricks again," Justin said with a smirk. 

"Okay, that's more than what I wanted to know, kiddo," Daniel said with a small laugh. "Goodnight," he called out. 

"Goodnight," Justin replied. Daniel opened the door and heard Justin called out to him once more "Hey." Daniel turned to look at him. 

"I love you, Dad," he said softly, warming Daniel's heart. He loved it when Justin called him Dad. He mostly called him by his first name, even after he had legally adopted the boy at the age of 15. He meant what he had said to Justin. He loved him like his own son. He couldn't imagine any parent wanting to throw their kid away just because they were different. The fact that Justin was gay didn't make Daniel love him any less. It just so happened that his biological son, Ryan, was also gay. He was proud of them both. Ryan had befriended Justin in the beginning of high school, and he had almost instantly become part of their family. 

"I love you, too. Get some sleep," Daniel said. Justin nodded and watched the man leave his little apartment. 

Justin sighed as he reached into his mini-fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, and chased down a couple of Excedrin. Hopefully his headache would be gone soon. 

After stripping off his clothes he crawled into his inviting bed. It had never looked so good. He reached over to his nightstand and switched off his lamp, and lay in the dark for a while just thinking. 

He thought about Alex. His ex just didn't understand how much it hurt every time he saw him. Every time he saw his face he was reminded of what he did to him, and he had to relive it all over again. He wished he could erase it from his mind. He even kind of wished that he could forgive the man. He missed him. He missed what they had. He missed their joking nature and long conversations about art and history. And now it was over. He guessed he really didn't know Alex all that well. He would have never in a million years thought that the other man would deceive him. He probably would have gone on thinking that if he hadn't walked right in on the two men and saw it with his own eyes. 

"Fuck," Justin mumbled, and a fresh set of tears started falling down his cheeks, dampening his pillow. Upset that he was letting the situation get to him again, he angrily wiped his tears away, and tried to move his mind to other things. He found himself thinking about the handsome ad man with the amazing hazel eyes. There was something oddly familiar about the man that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Justin smiled as he thought about their conversation. Brian was quite the charmer. And gay. The "label queen" comment had tipped him off. Well, that, and the way the man kept staring at him. He was pretty sure Brian had checked out his ass when he went to get his beer. 

Justin laughed out loud at his next thought. $300 for a fucking shirt? That was almost equivalent to his car payment every month! He was obviously way out of Brian's league. He probably only liked guys with money and fancy cars. 

Justin had never been interested in those things. He had grown up in an upper class neighborhood. His parents were the ever-stereotypical WASPs and were into the whole country club scene. He never could stand the way all those stuck-up snobs flashed their money around and thought that they were so much better than everyone else. 

The Jensons were so different from his own family. They weren't rich, but they worked hard for what they had and they had always treated him like one of the family. They made sure he always had everything he needed. Best of all, they loved him for who he was and never expected him to change, unlike his own parents. 

Justin smiled again, thinking about how grateful he was to have gotten away from his family and was adopted by the Jensons. He never would have thought that his parents kicking him out at the age of 15 would end up being a blessing. With that last thought in mind, he drifted off into a deep sleep, but not before noticing that his headache was completely gone. 


	3. The Meeting

The next evening, O' Connell's Bar and Grill was busy, as it had been the night before. When Brian walked in the front door, he smiled as he saw the same pretty young lady that greeted him the last time. 

"Hello, Katie," Brian said giving her one of his charming smiles. 

"Good memory, Mr. Kinney," she said smiling back. Brian raised his right brow, surprised that she knew his name as well. "Can I show you to a table or are you planning to sit at the bar again?" she asked. 

"Uh, I was actually wondering if Mr. Jenson was available?" Brian asked. Katie nodded at him. 

"Yes. He's been expecting you. He's in his office. Why don't you order a drink at the bar and wait for him. I'll tell him you're here," she said. 

"Thanks, I'd appreciate that," Brian told her. He walked into the bar area, and found himself seeking out the handsome blond bartender. He smiled as he saw the man in question running around, busily delivering drinks and collecting money from the customers. Brian found an empty barstool and sat, waiting for the blond to notice him. After a few minutes, he was rewarded with a beautiful smile, as the bartender finally saw him, and walked over to where he was seated. 

Justin smiled at Brian, noting how incredible the brunet looked in his navy blue suit. 

"Persistent," Justin said with a smirk. 

"You have no idea," Brian winked. 

"You're certainly dressed for the part. You look sharp," Justin said, impressed. 

"Actually, I just got off work. I had a late meeting and just came straight over here afterward," Brian explained. Justin nodded. 

"Can I get you a drink, Mr. Kinney?" Justin asked. 

"Jim Beam," Brian told him. Justin nodded. "And you can call me Brian," he told the blond. Justin arched a brow at the brunet. "Actually, we were never really formally introduced last night," he pointed out. 

"I'm Justin," he replied with a smile, and poured the shot into a glass and set it in front of the brunet. Brian reached in his back pocket for his wallet to pay, but Justin stopped him. 

"No, it's on the house," Justin told him. Brian gave him a confused look. 

"And why is that?" Brian asked. 

"Compliments of the owner," Justin replied and then walked away to collect the empty beer bottles and glasses on the bar and refill drinks for the customers. Brian shrugged and downed the burning liquid. He watched the blond as he skillfully worked. He was amazed at Justin's ability to be quick, yet graceful as he multi tasked. He had a radiant smile and was pleasant with the customers as well, which Brian guessed helped pull in big tips for the young man. 

"Mr. Kinney?" a man's voice asked behind him, almost startling him as he was brought out of his thoughts. Brian turned around to see a man his own height, hazel green eyes and salt and pepper hair, giving him a warm and polite smile. It took everything in him to remain cool, calm and collected as he came face to face with his biological father for the first time. He nervously smiled at the man, trying to put on his everyday confident face. He immediately stood up from his seat and reached out to shake the man's hand. 

"Mr. Jenson?" Brian replied, amazed that his voice box worked. Daniel Jenson accepted Brian's hand, giving it a firm shake. 

"What can I do for you?" Daniel asked. Brian quickly glanced around the busy bar and then back at Daniel. 

"Would it be possible to talk in a place more reserved?" Brian requested. Daniel smiled and nodded his head and started walking, motioning for Brian to follow him. 

"Yeah, sure. My office is just this way. To be honest, though, it's a bit of a mess at the moment, and I thought I could get away with talking to you at the bar," Daniel admitted. Brian chuckled at that. 

"No big deal. This won't take up too much of your time," he told the man. 

Daniel opened the door to the medium sized office space, motioning for Brian to take a seat in one of the chairs opposite of his desk, which was covered in papers, receipts and files. Brian looked around the room, some unusual things catching his eye. There was a small table with a few toys, crayons and books on it. Also, there were some spread out sheets of paper of colorful stick figured drawings. Against the wall, stood a TV stand with a small television and VCR; a few Disney videos sitting on top of it. 

"Sorry about the mess, I tried to warn you. My son had to drop off my granddaughter this afternoon because he couldn't get a babysitter, so guess who lucked out?" Daniel laughed. Brian nodded and smiled, trying not to dwell too much on the fact that he had a half brother and niece that he never knew about them until right then. 

"It's okay, I don't mind," Brian replied. 

"She's a delight, that one. I just love her to death. I keep this stuff in my office to keep her occupied on days like today. We've been so busy though that I haven't had a chance to clean up." 

"Really, it's no problem. I... think it's very nice of you to have all this stuff here for her," Brian said. 

"That's my Elena, right over there," Daniel said, pointing to a picture of a little girl, about 5 years old, with dark long hair and brown eyes. It was then that Brian noticed that it was only one of many pictures spread throughout the office of whom he assumed were Daniel's family - his family too. Then one picture in particular caught his eye. It was Justin, the bartender, and another boy with light brown hair, huddled together and smiling, both wearing a blue cap and gown. 'Oh, shit. Oh God. Is he my _brother_?' Brian cursed to himself, starting to feel ill at the thought of him lusting after his own sibling. 

"Do you have any kids, Mr. Kinney?" Daniel asked. Brian turned his attention back to the man. 

"Please, call me Brian. Yeah, I have a son. He just turned 8 months," Brian said. 

"How wonderful," Daniel said, and smiled genuinely. "Children really do make life worth everything. My family means the world to me." 

Brian shifted in his chair uncomfortably. He hadn't expected this to be so hard. This man, his father, had a family. They had all lived their happy lives without him, unaware of his existence, and had been just fine. He was starting to think it was a very bad idea, being there. He had no idea what to say or do, now. 

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to ramble on and talk your ear off. I'll let you tell me why you're here," Daniel said. 

"I um... well, actually, Mr. Jenson..." 

"Daniel." 

"Daniel... I think that maybe I made a mistake..." Brian started to say, even though he knew it sounded lame. 

"Mistake? You're an ad man looking for some business, are you not?" Daniel asked Brian with a confused look. 

"Well, yes, that's true. But see, I just landed a new account, and I'm afraid I won't have enough time to devote to you and your business adequately if I take you on as a new client. I do apologize for taking up your time, sir," Brian said, standing up. 

Daniel stood up as well, and frowned. Something wasn't right. He had always been good at detecting liars, and this man in front of him, this Brian Kinney, was not telling him the truth. He had known many ad executives, and he knew that if they thought it would bring them in a good chunk of change, they would MAKE time for a client. It made Daniel nervous not knowing what this man was really doing there. Whatever the reason, he didn't think he was dangerous. In fact, he noted that Brian looked nervous and maybe even terrified at that moment; as if he wanted to run out of there as fast as he could. 

"Now, just hold on a second. Would you mind sitting back down please, and telling me exactly what you're doing here, Brian? Because something tells me that you sure as Hell didn't come here for the reason you claim," Daniel said, wanting to get down to the bottom of things. 

Brian swallowed hard and his heart started racing. 'He's onto me. He knows who I am and why I'm here,' he thought. 

The room seemed like it was closing in on him, and he started to panic. He had been rejected all his life by his uncaring family, and it was possible that it would happen again right now. Daniel could yell at him and tell him to get out of his life. He could say he didn't want Brian to know him or the rest of his family. 

Daniel saw the distress of the younger man, and the expression on his own face softened. "Whoa, just take a few breathes. Have a seat, Brian," Daniel said in a calmer, gentler, voice. Brian nodded and did as Daniel asked and then took his advice and started breathing deeply to calm himself. After a few minutes, he looked up to see Daniel staring at him patiently. 

"You, okay, Son?" he asked, unknowing making Brian flinch at his choice of words. 

"I'm fine... thanks," Brian said quietly, embarrassed that he freaked out. He was usually so good at keeping himself together. He guessed this man probably thought he was a loon. 

Daniel observed Brian carefully. He watched as Brian brought his hand up to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose, and that is when he saw it. The sight of the cowry shell bracelet that Brian had on his wrist made Daniel's breath catch in his throat. 

"Oh, my God," Daniel said just above a whisper, his eyes staring at the bracelet. Brian looked at him questioningly, seeing the shocked look on his face, and his eyes glued to his wrist. 

"You are Joan's son, aren't you?" Daniel asked. Brian looked at Daniel in surprise and then slowly nodded his head. 

"How did you know?" Brian asked. 

"The bracelet. I'd know it anywhere. I gave that to your mother. I bought it in Mexico, Gosh, it must have been about 30 years ago. She loved that thing. She had it on the last time I saw her," Daniel said, still in a daze. 

Brian looked at the bracelet and ran his fingers over the smooth shells. He'd worn that bracelet ever since he was a boy. It was the only real gift his mother had given him. Joan had told him that that bracelet was a very special gift from someone she cared about, and she wanted him to have it. He had felt so honored that she wanted to give him something that had meant so much to her. 

"Does this visit of yours have something to do with Joan?" Daniel asked. 

"Well... yes, I'm here because of something she told me," Brian said quietly. 

"I don't understand --" 

"She said that you're my father," Brian suddenly blurted out, not wanting to drag it out any longer. Daniel looked at Brian with complete and utter shock. 

"What?" 

"Are you really going to make me say it again?" Brian asked. 

"But.. how? I mean, can it be true? Why didn't she ever..." Daniel said, not knowing what to do or say about the situation. 

"I think maybe I should go," Brian said, standing up and going to the door. 

"No! Don't leave. I'm sorry, this is just so much to take in. I just need a few minutes to get it sorted out in my head. Please, stay," Daniel insisted. 

Brian nodded his head, but did not sit back down. He remained standing, leaning with all his weight against the door. The hardest part was over, but it didn't mean that there wouldn't be more to come. He wanted to be close to the exit in case it all went to shit. At that moment though, he was full of relief that the man hadn't yet yelled at him or accused him of lying. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Brian decided to say something. 

"Look, Daniel. I want to just make a few things clear," Brian told him. Daniel looked up at his son to give him his full attention. "I don't want anything from you. Obviously, I'm in advertising and make a good living, so I don't need any money. I'm not here to yell at you for not being around as I grew up. My mother told me that she lied to you. There was no way you could have known about me. I'm not here to harass you or anything like that." 

"So, why are you here, Brian? There has to be a reason," Daniel said, looking at him carefully. 

"Because... well, I 'm not entirely sure why I'm here. The story goes like this. The man who I thought was my father all these years recently died. Joan told me that same day that I wasn't Jack's biological son. She told me that she met you and that you two fell in love. When she found out she was pregnant with me she had to end things with you not only because she was married to Jack, but because of her religion and her fear of being disowned from her family by having another man's baby. So, she admitted to you she was married and ended the relationship, and told Jack she was pregnant with his son, and then we all lived miserably ever after. The end," Brian scoffed. 

Daniel frowned. 'Miserably ever after?' he thought. Brian saw the look of confusion on the man's face. 

"I don't really want to get into that though. The point is, I wanted to find and meet you because you had a right to know, just as I did. We've lived 29 years not knowing that the other even existed. I just thought I should tell you," Brian said. He watched his father's face carefully to see what his reaction would be. He was a bit surprised to see the man start to smile warmly at him. 

"Well," Daniel started to say, and then he felt himself get choked up. He stood up and walked towards Brian. "Stand up straight and let me have a look at you," Daniel said with glassy eyes. Brian released the breath that he unconsciously had been holding and smiled back at his father. He reluctantly stepped forward and away from the door and stood up straight. Suddenly he felt Daniel take him into a tight hug, and was surprised at himself as he clung to this stranger as if his life depended on it, feeling his own tears fill his eyes. It seemed as if they stood like that for hours when in fact it was only a few minutes. 

They finally pulled away from one another, their faces damp and flushed. Daniel wiped the wetness from his face with his hands and then smiled again. 

"You're a handsome guy, I should have known who you were the moment I saw you," Daniel joked. Brian laughed, wiping his own face. He wasn't sure what he felt at the moment, but he had such a good feeling about it all. Any uncertain or regretful feelings he felt began to melt away. 

"You're in a for a treat," Daniel told him. Brian looked at Daniel questioningly. "Brian, these people," Daniel pointed, referring to the people in the pictures all over the office. "All of these people are your family," he told him. 

Brian smiled and nodded. He walked around and looked at the pictures more carefully. For some reason when he had been focused on meeting his father before, the thought that he may have had brothers and sisters or any other family didn't occur to him. 

"And the hostess, Katie, is your sister," Daniel told him. Brian smiled at that. The beautiful young girl from the front was his sister. He actually had a sister who was beautiful that he could see himself actually getting along with, unlike that cunt, Claire. 

"And um, Justin? He's my brother too?" Brian asked, hoping he was wrong. 

"Well, in a way, yes, he is. My wife, Alice and I adopted him when he was just a young teen. He was having a pretty rough home life and so we took him in. We love him like our own son, though," Daniel explained. 

Brian was ecstatic. Not only was he relieved that he wasn't lusting and having impure thoughts about his own brother, but it made him happy that this man -- his father, cared enough about Justin to take him into his home and raise him like his own son because of his problems at home; kind of like what Debbie had done for him. That spoke volumes about what kind of person Daniel was. And if the whole family was just as accepting, then that meant they were probably all genuinely good people. Then the thought crossed his mind. 'Will they all accept _me_ into their family? Do I even want to be accepted into a new family?' 

"They will love you," Daniel said, as if reading Brian's mind. "I only ask this. Let me tell them on my own first. Then I will invite you to the house to meet everyone. Does that sound okay?" Daniel asked. Brian nodded his head slowly. "Oh, my! I just realized I have a new grandson!" Daniel said excitedly. "I can't wait to meet your wife and son," he said hugging Brian again. Brian's body stiffened at that. He still had one more thing to tell dear old Dad. He really hoped that he wasn't a homophobe. 

"Actually, I'm not married. I was doing a favor for my best friend, Lindsay and her partner," Brian explained. 

"That was very commendable of you," Daniel said. 

"Well, while we're getting everything out in the open here, I might as well tell you right now that I'm gay," Brian told him and waited for a reaction. 

"Well that explains why you were giving Justin the eye while sitting at the bar," Daniel smirked. Brian was never one to get embarrassed, but at that moment he felt himself flush red. 

"No need to worry about whether or not your sexuality would bother anyone in this family. Alice and I are actively involved in PFLAG, and you also happen to have a gay sibling. You see, Katie has a twin brother, Ryan, who is also gay. He met Justin in school, and they became fast friends having more than a few things in common. It's a long story, and one I should let Justin tell you, if you're interested." 

Brian's head was spinning. This was all so much to take in. He unconsciously ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. 

"It's all a bit overwhelming, isn't it?" Daniel said, resting his hand on Brian's shoulder for comfort. 

Brian nodded. "Yeah," he admitted with a weak smile. 

"I agree, but..." Daniel paused, and Brian looked into his eyes. "I'm so glad you're here," he finished. Brian smiled, and let his father pull him into another hug. He wondered if that happened a lot in their family. This man seemed to have such love and affection for people he cared about. Brian was unfamiliar with that. He wasn't used to any kind of affection. The closest he had to that was what he had with his best friend, Michael. In Brian's eyes, to be affectionate with someone required trust, and he trusted very few people in his life. He wondered just what was in store for him with his new family. 

"I should get going," Brian said. Daniel nodded. Brian took out one of his business cards and handed it to him. "My home phone as well as my cell number is on that card," he told him. 

"I'll be in touch. Expect a call soon. The family is supposed to be over for dinner this Friday. I can tell them all then. I have feeling they will want to meet you sooner than later," Daniel said with an assuring smile. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Justin turned his key inside the lock to the Jenson's home and walked in. He had just got off from work. Usually, when he got off this late he went straight to his little "apartment" over the garage after work and went to bed, but tonight he hadn't had time to eat and wondered if there were any leftovers from dinner in the fridge in the house. 

Most of the lights in the house were off; it was late, after all. The bar inside the restaurant stayed open until 2:00am, and Justin had closed tonight. He made his way to the kitchen and was surprised to see Daniel sitting at the table eating a piece of cherry pie. 

"Hey, Danny, what are you doing up?" Justin asked the man. 

"Oh, I just couldn't sleep, is all," Daniel replied, taking a sip from the coffee cup in front of him. 

"I'm sure that's helping," Justin smirked, pointing at the coffee. 

"Believe it or not this is decaf . I just wanted something warm to go with the pie." 

Justin nodded giving the man a knowing look, and walked to the fridge. "I'm starving," he groaned. 

"Oh, uh, Katie ordered pizza for dinner. There's plenty left over if you want some. She said she knew you'd probably be hungry when you got home, so she ordered an extra one. She knows how much you eat," Daniel chuckled. 

Justin's eyes went wide at the site of the pizza box and he immediately took it out of the fridge and got out a plate from the cupboard. 

"I love that girl," Justin said, putting 3 big slices of the pepperoni, sausage and jalapeño pizza onto a plate and placing it into the microwave to heat up. He got a beer out of the fridge and sat down at the table. 

"You two are crazy, you know that? I tried a piece of your pizza and my tongue went numb!" 

Justin laughed. "Mmm, the hotter the better! That just leaves more for us!" 

As Justin ate his heated food, he noticed the spaced out look on Daniel's face and he frowned. He knew that face. 

"So what's wrong?" Justin asked. 

Daniel looked at him and smiled. "Nothing is wrong. In fact, things are great. It's just been a long day," he replied. 

Justin looked at him suspiciously. "Okay, fine. You don't have to tell me what's going on. But just know that I know that you're thinking about something, and it's important. So if you change your mind and want to tell me about it, I'm all ears," he said, and took a sip of his beer. 

"What gives me away?" Daniel asked. 

"Well, numerous things, but first of all, we all know that you only have trouble sleeping when you have a lot on your mind. Next clue? You're seeking out sugar after 2:00am, behavior that is a sure tell sign that something is going on." 

"I guess you know me pretty well," Daniel chuckled. Justin smiled and then remained silent, waiting for Daniel to start talking. 5...4...3...2... 

"Okay, there's something going on," Daniel admitted. Justin almost laughed out loud at how predictable his adopted father was. "Something has come to my attention, and it's big," Daniel told him. Justin was definitely intrigued, and sat up straighter in his chair. 

"Okay, first let me ask - is this a good something or a bad something?" Justin asked nervously. 

"It's good. It has to do with the gentleman that came to see me today..." 

"Brian? Was he actually able to convince you to let him do some ads? Wow, he IS good," Justin smirked, finishing off his pizza. 

Daniel had never done any exclusive advertising for his restaurant. The place had been there for years - hell, Daniel worked there as a waiter when he was just 15 years old, when his grandfather had owned it. Patrick O' Connell hated commercialism, and liked the fact that people came to his place to enjoy great atmosphere, friendly people and delicious food; Irish recipes that had been passed down from generation to generation. Most of their business came from word of mouth, and usually when people came to O' Connell's once, they would come back with friends or family. That was the way he liked it. Daniel, out of respect for his grandfather, and the family business tradition, liked to carry on that way. 

"No, that's not exactly the reason he came to see me," Daniel said. Justin furrowed his brows. 

"What? Well then why was he there?" 

"Can I trust you to keep a secret?" 

"Sure, just like everyone else in this family can," Justin joked. 

"I mean it, Justin. It's really important." 

"Jesus, you're scaring me, Danny. I promise not to tell anyone," Justin told him, the anticipation getting to him. 

Daniel sighed. "Brian... he told me that he's my son," Daniel said in a low voice. Justin's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. 

"What? Is he sure?" Justin whispered loudly so his voice wouldn't be loud enough for anyone to hear him. Daniel nodded. "Oh, my God. Wait, how do you know he's not just trying to scam you for some money or try to take over the restaurant?" Justin asked, his overprotective side taking over. 

"He actually brought that up. He said that he didn't want anything from me - just that he recently found out the truth and he thought that I had a right to know. He was very nervous, the poor guy. I almost had to strap him down to the chair to keep him from running out the door." 

"So, what are you going to do?" Justin asked. 

"Well, first I want to tell Alice. I think she deserves to know before everyone else. The only reason I didn't tell her tonight is because she was asleep when I got home, and I didn't want to wake her. It just so happened that you showed up and got to be first in line for the news." 

"Don't worry, I won't let on that I knew first," Justin told him. 

"I appreciate that. I want to tell the family on Friday night when everyone comes to dinner. I thought that would be a good time to tell them. Then, when everyone feels ready, I'd like to invite Brian over here to meet the family." 

"Wow," Justin whispered. "You weren't kidding. This IS big. No wonder you can't sleep and you're down here eating pie at 2 in the morning," Justin said. He got up out of his chair and walked over to Daniel and leaned down to hug him. 

"Yeah.... wow," Daniel sighed, hugging his adopted son back tightly. 


	4. The Family

Alice Jenson was just putting the Pot Roast into the oven, when her daughter Katie came into the kitchen. 

"Hey, Mom, do you need any help in here?" Katie asked. 

"Your timing is impeccable as always; asking me if I need help when the food's already done being prepared!" Alice laughed. Katie laughed too, and hugged her mother. 

"Sorry, I had some errands I had to take care of before the family all got here. I can help make the spinach and artichoke dip though," Katie offered. 

"No, it's okay, honey, I have everything under control," Alice said, washing her hands. 

"So, are you going to give me a little hint as to what Dad's big secret is?" Katie asked. 

"You heard him; he wants to tell everyone at the same time. You'll just have to wait like everyone else," Alice told her, with a mischievous smile. 

"This is so not fair. Justin won't admit it, but I know that he knows something," Katie said with a frown and crossed her arms across her chest. 

"Who knows something?" a voice asked walking into the kitchen. 

"Ryan!" Katie squealed and hugged the young man tightly to her. He lifted her up and spun her around before putting her down, and beamed at his twin sister. "I'm so glad you made it," she smiled. 

"Me too. I've missed you, sis," he said affectionately. Ryan was only slightly taller than his sister. Like his twin, he was slender, with dark hair and sky blue eyes. He was a very handsome young man, and both men and women were always instantly attracted to him. Not only was he good looking, but he was witty, charming, and intelligent. 

"Isn't there some kind of law against twins living in different cities? Harrisburg is too far away." Katie asked with a frown. 

"Hey, I asked if you wanted to come with me, but no... you just had to stay here and remain close to all your friends, family, boyfriend - God, I couldn't imagine why. Those don't sound like a good enoughs reason to be separated from your twin, to me," Ryan teased. Katie playfully punched her brother in the arm. 

"Ouch! Mom, she's beating me up again. See? This is why I had to leave, I couldn't take your abuse," he said, pretending to be in pain from her light punch. He walked over to his mother and with a wounded expression and hugged her. Alice cradled her son. 

"It's times like these that I'm glad I don't have to deal with you two and be a referee on a daily basis anymore!" Alice said with a chuckle. 

"That really hurts, mother," Ryan pouted, his hand clutching at his heart. 

Alice rolled her eyes at her son, and smiled. It was good to have him back. She had missed Ryan so much. Everything just seemed so much more alive when he was around. He brought everyone's spirits up. 

"Where's Scott? Is he here?" Alice asked. 

"No, he couldn't make it this time. He wanted to, but he had to work. He sends his love, though," Ryan told her. "He also said that he would have me shot if I didn't remember to bring back some of your homemade peanut butter cookies." 

Alice laughed. "Well, we can't have that. I'll make sure to bake a batch before you leave. How long are you staying?" 

"I figured I'd drive back on Sunday night." 

Alice smiled and nodded. "It's good to have you home," she told him. 

Suddenly they heard some voices coming from the living room. It was apparent that the rest of the family was arriving. They all decided to walk out into the living room to greet the others. 

"I thought I heard your big blabbermouth out here," Ryan said to his older brother, Peter, as he walked into the living room, his mom and sister following close behind. 

Peter turned to look at Ryan and smirked. "What was that, little bro?" he asked with a devilish grin and then suddenly tackled his younger brother onto the couch and started giving him a noogie. The family laughed in amusement at the two men who were now rolling onto the floor, were laughing and wrestling. 

"Well, some things never change," Daniel said out loud, his smile reaching his eyes. He thought back to when his sons were younger and how they would always practice their wrestling moves on each other. The two boys had always been close. They had been somewhat competitive with each other, but it had been in good fun. Peter was taller and more muscular than Ryan, but that had never discouraged the younger of the two. He was a lot stronger than people thought and could hold his own. 

"Is daddy hurting him?" Elena asked Justin, who was holding her in his arms. She looked worried for her uncle. 

"No, sweetie. They're just playing," Justin explained to the five-year old. 

"Okay boys, get up off the floor before you tear my living room apart," Alice ordered. 

Peter released Ryan from the position he had him pinned in, and pulled him up off the floor, then grabbed him in a hug. 

"How are ya, little bro?" Peter asked with a smile as he hugged his brother. 

"Not too bad," he replied. Peter nodded. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The evening at the Jensons house was enjoyably spent visiting and laughing and catching up with one another's lives. It had been at least a couple of months since they had seen Ryan. Peter, his wife Julie, and their daughter lived only 15 minutes away from the house the oldest sibling grew up in. Because of their busy lives though, they didn't get to see everyone as much as they liked. It was nice that they were all together again. 

After dinner was over and they all settled in the living room for coffee and cherry pie, Daniel thought that it was a good time to tell his family what he had been excited to tell them for days now. He looked at his wife, Alice, and she smiled at him, knowing that it was time. 

"Okay, everyone, listen up," Daniel said. They all stopped talking amongst each other and looked at him curiously. "There is something that I need to tell you all, but I want you to promise that you won't say anything until I'm finished explaining. All right?" 

"Dad, is everything all right? It's not your health, is it?" Peter asked with concern. 

"No, it's nothing like that." 

"Okay, Dad, don't keep us in suspense. What is going on?" Ryan asked. 

"Well, I just found out a few days ago that I have another son," Daniel told them. He paused, allowing the information to soak in. With the exception of Justin and Alice, everyone's face was in shock. 

"Is this a joke?" Katie asked. 

"No, sweetheart. Let me explain what's going on, and then I'll try to answer any questions that any of you may have." He felt his wife squeeze his hand in encouragement, and he smiled at her. He took a deep breath, and thought about when it all started, and then continued. 

"Years ago, before I met your mother, I was involved with a woman, named Joan Kinney. I loved her very much, and thought she was an incredible woman. We were together were several months. Then one day she told me that she was married and said she couldn't see me anymore. Needless to say, I was shocked. I had no idea that she was a married woman. I never saw her again after that day." Daniel looked at his family for their reaction and heard their gasps and saw some of their frowning shocked faces. 

"It turns out that Joan was pregnant with my son, and because she was married, and also because of religious reasons, she felt she had no choice but to end our relationship and have everyone including her husband, believe that the child she was carrying was his. Brian came to me to tell me the truth that he only learned recently when the man whom he believed was his father, died. His mother, Joan, confessed to him on that day that her husband was not his biological father. He felt he needed to find me and tell me the truth." 

"Oh my God. We have another brother?" Ryan asked incredulously. 

"Yes. His name is Brian Kinney, and he's 29 years old," Daniel told them. 

"You mean, the gorgeous guy that came into the restaurant?" Katie asked. 

"Yes, that's him," Daniel smiled. 

"No wonder I had such a good feeling about him," Katie grinned. 

"Whoa, wait a minute. What if this guy is a scam artist?" Peter said with a frown. 

"I don't believe that he is, son. He seemed very genuine, not to mention scared to even tell me who he was. I could see how nervous he was when he met me. He was wearing the bracelet that I gave his mother all those years ago. It was one of a kind. Last but not least, he has a strong resemblance to people in this family. In fact, he looks a lot like you, Peter. You both have your grandfather's Irish features," Daniel told his son. Peter huffed at that. 

"Your father wants him to be a part of this family. He would really like for you all to meet Brian, and would like to know how you feel about it," Alice said. 

"What makes you think we should trust this guy?" Peter asked, not liking the sound of all of this. 

"Honey, maybe we shouldn't jump to conclusions. Daniel trusts him, that should tell you something," his wife said softly. 

"He trusts everyone, Julie," Peter said with a frown. 

"That's not true, Peter, Daniel is a very good judge of character," Justin defended. 

"Of course you would say that, Justin, he took you in at 15," Peter spat. Justin was surprised by the comment and looked away. 

"Hey, don't speak to him that way," Ryan warned his brother. 

"Okay, that's enough," Alice said, raising her voice over theirs. Peter sighed and then looked at Justin. 

"I'm sorry, Jay. I didn't mean that. You know I love you, and consider you part of the family." Justin slightly nodded in response. 

"Look, it's natural for you all to be a little suspicious of a stranger or have your doubts, but why not meet him first and then come to your own conclusions about whether or not you will decide to accept him," Daniel said. 

"I think that's fair," Katie replied. 

The rest of them agreed, and being outvoted, Peter shrugged in defeat. 

"So when do we get to meet him?" Ryan asked. 

"Well, that's up to you guys. I told him that I would called him by this weekend and let him know. Since you're only going to be here until Sunday, Ryan, I was thinking tomorrow night would probably be best," Daniel suggested. 

Ryan nodded. "That's fine by me," he said. 

"What about the rest of you?" Daniel asked. They all nodded their heads yes. "Okay, then, I'll give Brian a call tonight and see if he's available." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Brian was just getting ready to head out to Woody's when he heard his cell phone ring. Seeing Daniel's number on the screen, he smiled. The two had chatted a couple of times on the phone since their first meeting, and he was waiting to hear from him tonight to see how the rest of the family felt about meeting him. He answered the phone with a slight nervousness. 

"Hello," he answered. 

"Brian, it's Daniel." 

"Hey, what's the word?" 

"Well, they were a little shocked, but for the most part, they want to meet you," Daniel said. 

"For the most part?" Brian asked. 

"Yeah, Peter is feeling a little wary about this situation. He has trust issues," Daniel explained. 

"Well that's something my brother and I have in common," Brian smirked. 

"So, are you free tomorrow night?" Daniel asked. 

"I can be," Brian said. 

"Well, if you have other plans..." Daniel started to say, but Brian interrupted him. 

"No, it's just Babylon. My friends and I always go there on Saturday night. It's no big deal to cancel," Brian assured him. 

"If you're sure..." Daniel said. 

"Yeah; I guess all the hot guys will just have to do without me for one night," Brian said with a dramatic sigh, causing his father to laugh. 

"Well, I guess we'll be seeing you tomorrow then, around 6:00p.m.?" 

"I'll be there," Brian assured him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Brian rang the doorbell to the Jenson household at exactly 6:00. Now was not the time to be fashionably late. He was nervous as Hell, as he stood on the doorstep, waiting. His face immediately lit up when the door opened and he saw his sexy blond hair, blue-eyed bartender giving him that sunshine smile of his. 

"Hello, Brian," Justin greeted, and opened the door for him to step inside. Brian was about to compliment on how nice the house was, when little Elena suddenly ran to where they were standing and walked up to Brian, tugging on his pant leg. 

"Are you the new brudder?" she asked curiously. Brian laughed and got down on one knee so he was at a closer eye level with her. 

"That would be me," he told her with a smile. 

"You look like my daddy," she said with a shy grin, and touched his cheek with her little hand as if to make sure he were real. Brian looked up at Justin, not sure how to react. 

"Sweetie, why don't you go wash your hands. Dinner is almost ready," Justin told her. 

"Okie, Uncle Justin," she replied with a smile and skipped to the bathroom, her long, dark brown curls bouncing against her back. 

"Are you okay?" Justin asked him. 

"Yeah, I'm just a little nervous," Brian admitted. 

"It will be all right. They're all outside on the patio. Come on," Justin said, holding out his hand. To Brian's surprise, he felt strangely comforted by that, and took the blond's hand, feeling an electric jolt as their skin touched, and he smiled back at him. 

They walked out to the fairly large patio. It was a beautiful evening, and the sky was an orangish-pink color, the sun having set not too long before. The family was sitting out there in chairs, around a big wooden rectangular patio table. When they noticed Brian standing there, they all immediately stood up to greet him. Brian noticed that they seemed a bit nervous as well. Daniel smiled and was the first to walk over to Brian and give him a hug. 

"You're right on time. This is my beautiful wife, Alice," he told Brian, who looked over at the woman with light brown hair and green eyes and smiled. She took him into a hug. "It's so nice to meet you, Brian," she smiled. He could tell he was going to like her right away. 

"Let me introduce you to the rest of your family," Daniel told Brian, who just nodded with a small smile. 

"Come on, Dad, you don't have to do it for us. We're all adults here - well almost," he said, looking at Peter, who glared at him. "I'm Ryan," he said, offering his hand out to Brian to shake. Brian smiled, accepting his hand, and studied his brother's face. Obviously this family is where he got his good looks. 

"You already met me, but well, now you're meeting me in a different way, I guess," Katie said with a grin, and walked over to Brian. He was surprised when he felt her suddenly grab him in a hug and whisper, "Welcome to the family." He knew now why he had liked her right away. Oddly, he felt very comfortable hugging Katie. 

"Whatcha doin'?" Elena asked, joining them all on the patio. Daniel smiled and picked up his granddaughter. 

"This here, is Elena. Elena, this is your Uncle Brian," Daniel explained. 

"It's nice to meet you, Elena," Brian said. She giggled shyly at him and buried her face in her grandfather's neck. 

"She's a little shy at times," Julie explained. She grabbed her husband's hand and pulled him over there to join them. Brian turned his attention to the attractive strawberry blond-haired woman. She was fair-skinned with brown eyes, and had a very natural beauty to her. "I'm Julie, her mother, and this is my husband, Peter," she introduced. 

Brian turned to look at Peter, and was almost stunned at how similar they looked. They didn't look exactly alike, but both had the chestnut hair, the same pointy chin, and their eyes were both hazel. Peter was about the same height, but was a bit more muscular than him and not as skinny. 

"Peter," Brian nodded, noticing that the other man had an expression on his face that said he was taking in their physical likeness in as well. Peter held out his hand and shook Brian's and nodded back at him. He still wasn't sure they should all be trusting this man, but he had promised that he would try not to judge him without at least getting to know him a little first. 

"Well, Brian, I hope you're hungry. The chicken casseroles are done," Alice told him. "Let's all get in the house and eat," she said. They all headed inside the house and sat at the dining table which had been extended and set up for this occasion. 

During the dinner, Brian found himself becoming more comfortable with everyone. He was prepared for their questions, and told them all about his career. It was a little awkward for him to tell them he was gay and about his situation with Lindsay and Gus. Daniel felt that telling the family that Brian was gay was probably something his son should tell them himself. It hadn't been bad at all, though; they hadn't batted an eye when he said he was gay, and they seemed touched that he was generous to help out a friend who wanted a baby. 

Peter was mostly quiet, just observing the conversation, even though there were questions he had wanted to ask Brian as well. He kept to his word though, and didn't make any rude comments during dinner. He had to admit that Brian seemed like a good guy. He would need to talk to him one-on-one soon, though. 

Before they all knew it, it was already close to 10:00 p.m. Elena was fast asleep in her father's arms on the sofa. Peter looked at his watch. 

"Well, you guys, we should probably get going," he told them. His wife nodded and offered to take their daughter. He carefully handed Elena over to Julie. The little girl barely stirred. 

Tey all walked them to the door and said their goodbyes. Peter shook Brian's hand. "Brian, I expect I'll be seeing you again soon. Until then, take care, and don't get too creeped out by this insane family," he joked. Brian smiled at him, feeling more at ease that his brother seemed to not dislike him. 

"Trust me, it's not as insane as the family I had growing up," Brian smirked. 

After Peter and his little family left, the rest of them sat in the living room. 

"You know, you kids don't have to stick around here all night," Daniel said. 

"Are you kicking us out, Dad?" Ryan asked with a smirk. 

"Come on, you don't want to hang out with us boring old folks." 

Alice hit her husband with a sofa pillow. "Speak for yourself, old man," she teased. They all laughed at the exchange between the couple. "He's right in one respect, though. It's Saturday night, why don't you all go out and do something fun?" she suggested. 

"Well, if you insist..." Ryan said with an evil grin. "Anyone up for Babylon? I haven't been there in ages!" 

"Sounds good to me," Justin said and then looked at Brian. "You interested?" he asked him. 

"Yeah, sure," Brian said. 

"Great. What about you, sis? You game?" he asked. 

"Actually, I was planning to go over to Matt's, tonight. Maybe next time," she said. 

"Fine, abandon your twin, YET AGAIN, for the boyfriend. You're going to be sorry one day," he told her, giving a little wink at Justin and Brian. Katie rolled her eyes at her brother. He loved to tease her. She shrugged it off, knowing that he really didn't have any hard feelings towards her. He had been disappointed when she turned him down about going with him to Harrisburg, but she knew that he understood. 

"Well, I guess you three should get going before all the good tricks are taken," Alice said, making Brian, Justin, Ryan and Katie all blush and their mouths open in surprise. 

"Mom!" Ryan and Katie said at the same exact time in almost the same tone. Justin laughed at them. The twins did that from time to time. Brian sat there smiling, amused at the situation and these people. They were a hoot. 

"Oh, please. I know what goes on; no use denying it," Alice said rolling her eyes. Daniel kissed his wife on the cheek and smiled back at them. 

"Okay, we need to leave like RIGHT NOW. They are giving me the creeps," Ryan shuddered. They laughed and then headed out for Babylon. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Babylon was crowded, but that was usual for a Saturday night. All eyes were on Ryan, Justin and Brian as they walked through the club. They were all pretty much used to the attention, just not usually with each other. They were causing even more of a commotion as a threesome. 

"Want me to get the drinks?" Justin asked. The other two nodded at him. "Jim Beam, right?" Justin asked Brian. He smiled back at Justin and nodded, a little surprised that the blond remembered what drink he liked. "Ryan? A Corona?" Justin asked. 

"Yeah," Ryan agreed. Justin nodded and left to get their drinks, leaving the Brian alone with his brother for the first time. 

"So, Brian. You're interested in Justin, aren't you?" he asked casually. Brian was slightly taken aback by Ryan's bluntness. 

"You're observant. He's definitely at the top of my list," Brian smiled. 

Ryan nodded his head and then gave him a serious look. "I just wanted to say that if all you're looking for is a fuck, then I suggest you find it somewhere else. Justin has been through a lot of shit these past couple of years, and he doesn't need to get his heart broken again," Ryan told him. 

"Honestly, I have no idea what I really want from Justin. I just know that I like him and that I feel good when he's around," Brian admitted. 

"Well, all I'm saying is you're hot; you can fuck anyone you want, I'm sure. But if you're looking for that, don't look in his direction, because I know him very well, and I know it would be too easy for him to fall for you." 

"Look, I know you care about him..." Ryan cut him off. 

"Yes, I do. More than anyone will ever know. And since I moved away I haven't been able to be there for him the way I've always been. If I would have been around when Justin found out that Alex was cheating on him, I would have kicked that son of a bitch's ass. Just please consider what I've said, all right?" Ryan said. 

Brian wondered if there was more to it than Ryan just being a caring friend. He wondered if Ryan was ever interested in Justin. "How do you know that Justin isn't looking for a fuck?" he asked. Ryan was about to answer, when Justin showed up with their drinks. 

"Here you go," Justin said, handing them their drinks. "I got you a Guinness as a chaser too, Brian." 

"How much do I owe you?" Brian asked. 

Justin shook his head. "I paid a tip, but the drinks were free. The bartender and I are old friends," Justin smiled. Brian nodded and clanked his glass with Justin's beer bottled before down his shot. 

Ryan's eyes were scanning the room, looking for his first trick of the night. He smiled as he made eye contact with a lucky winner. "See you guys later," he said, and left without waiting for a response. Justin just laughed and shook his head knowingly. 

"Doesn't he have a serious boyfriend?" Brian asked. Justin nodded. 

"Yeah, but they still trick. It works for them, I guess. He and Scott have been together for a few years, and Ryan moved out to Harrisburg with him. They're both attending The Academy of Medical Arts and Business together," Justin explained. 

"So, how do you feel about that?" Brian asked. 

"About what?" 

"About tricking while in a relationship," he clarified, deciding to test the waters. 

"Well, honestly, I've had a relationship like that before and it just didn't work out. I don't think I'm meant to be in that sort of relationship. I'm more of a one-man guy," Justin said. 

"I see," Brian said. Well, there went that idea. His chances with Justin were slim to none. 

"What about you?" Justin asked curiously. 

"Well, actually, I've never been in a relationship," Brian admitted. Justin gave him a surprised look. 

"Are you serious?" Brian nodded. "What's your story?" Justin asked. 

"I've never really believed in them," Brian told him. Justin nodded at him slowly. 

"I think I'm starting to feel the same way. I just keep having the worst luck when it comes to men. No matter what, I just get shit on," Justin said, taking a sip of his beer and then seemed to be deep in thought for a moment. "I can't help it though, you know? I love the idea of being in love. I know it might sound stupid, but I guess just like every other hopelessly romantic fag, I'm looking for that special someone," Justin admitted. 

"I guess that's where I can't go wrong. You can't be hurt by love if you don't believe in it," Brian said. Justin looked at Brian sadly. What had this man been through in his life that would destroy his belief in love and relationships? 

"No, I guess not," he replied, thoughtfully. Suddenly, a familiar song started playing, and Justin smiled. "You wanna dance?" Justin asked. Brian smiled at the blond and nodded. They walked out onto the dance floor and immediately, Justin grabbed Brian's hips so they could dance close. They ground against each other to the thumpa thumpa beat of Dive In The Pool. 

Brian was mesmerized by Justin's dancing. He was amazed how the blond could move his hips and ass. The boy could dance. He was painfully hard, and if Justin kept touching him the way he was, he wasn't sure he could stop himself from dragging his ass into the back room and fucking his brains out. Just as Brian was about to lose his resolve and ask Justin to go to the back room with him, he saw Ryan join them. Justin immediately started dancing with Ryan, now grinding against him. 

"That was fast," Justin smirked at Ryan. 

"Yeah, I got bored," Ryan replied. They both laughed, and then continued to dance. Brian felt someone behind him, freaking him from behind, and smiled when he turned around to see a tall and handsome dirty blond reach out to him and rub his hard cock through his jeans. 

"What do you say to the best fucking blow job you've ever had?" the trick whispered seductively into Brian's ear. How could he refuse that? 

"I say, go to it," Brian told the trick, happy he would soon get some release for his aching cock. He tapped Justin on the shoulder and motioned in the direction of the back room. Justin smiled and nodded in understanding, then continued to dance with Ryan, as he watched Brian lead his trick away. 

"I know what you're thinking," Ryan told Justin. 

"What?" Justin asked innocently. 

"You wish it was you who was being led by the hand to the back room by Brian," Ryan said. Justin blushed. "See? I'm always right." 

"You're annoying is what you are," Justin said. 

"You're not denying it." 

"Well, shit, he's hot. Who wouldn't think about it?" Justin defended. 

"Just be careful, Jay. I know you're on the rebound because of Alex. I don't want you to get hurt." 

"Don't worry about me," Justin said. 

"That's like asking me not to breath, or to stop fucking men," Ryan said. Justin laughed at that last comment. 

"Look, I'm not sure it could even go anywhere. I just want to get to know him better for now," Justin told his best friend. 

Ryan nodded, not sure if it was a good idea for Justin and Brian to get closer. The fact was, though, that Justin was his own person and would do what he wanted no matter what anyone said. He would just have to hope that things didn't blow up in Justin's face. 


	5. Putting On The Brakes

Brian, Justin and Ryan finally walked out of Babylon a little after 2:00a.m. Justin and Ryan were a bit drunk and kept having fits of giggles and referred to inside jokes that Brian didn't understand, but he laughed with them none the less because it was just so funny listening to them. They were like giddy kids, holding hands and practically skipping back to the Jeep. 

Once they reached the Jeep, Justin called, "Shot gun!" 

"Shit!" Ryan protested. 

"Ha-ha," Justin sang and then stuck his tongue out at him. Brian started laughing at their childishness. 

"Cut it out you two or no Disneyland," he smirked. Ryan and Justin ignored his comment and got into the vehicle. When Brian started the engine, Justin started scanning the radio for a good song. He frowned when he couldn't find anything good on. 

"Fuck, I hate the radio. Nothing but commercials and shitty music," Justin complained. 

"I have some CDs in the glove compartment," Brian told him. Justin immediately opened the compartment and started looking through the selection of CDs. 

"Hmm, let's see. Jimi Hendrix, The Eagles, Radiohead, Bjork, No Doubt, David Bowie - you've got quite a wide range of music, Brian," Justin commented. Brian just smiled back at him, and kept his eyes on the road. He peeked in his rear view mirror and noticed that Ryan seemed to have fallen asleep, and chuckled. 

"...Daft Punk -- OH MY GOD! Dirty Vegas! I love this CD! Can we listen to this?" Justin asked excitedly. Brian laughed at him. 

"Sure, give it here, and I'll stick it in." 

"You can stick it in any time," Justin thought to himself with a smile, and then licked his lips, remembering how it felt dancing so close to the brunet. Even though it wasn't really his style, he had almost been ready to pull Brian to the back room if the other man didn't make a move first. 

"Is that so?" Brian asked with an amused grin, getting the blond's sexual innuendo. Justin suddenly froze and then covered his mouth with his hand in surprise and embarrassment. He didn't think he'd said that out loud! 

"Uh, yeah, you can stick in the CD any time now," Justin said nervously as he tried to cover his slip, but he knew Brian had got his real meaning. 'Oh well,' he thought, and mentally shrugged it off.. He was too buzzed to care at the moment. He handed Brian the Dirty Vegas CD, and put the case back into the glove compartment. He smiled as the first song "Should I Know" started playing, and began singing along with it. Brian continued to smile at Justin in amusement. 

"Christ, Justin, do you think you could play that shit any louder?" Ryan bitched from the back seat, his head leaning against the window and his eyes still closed. Justin giggled and made a face. 

"Oops," he whispered to Brian, and turned the volume down. "Sorry, Ry," Justin called out apologetically. 

Brian and Justin made small talk, and before they knew it, Brian was pulling into the driveway to drop Ryan and Justin off. 

"Well, here we are," Brian said a little reluctantly. He wished the night wasn't ending. He wanted to get to know Justin better... much better. 

"Yeah... I uh, I had a great time, Brian," Justin said shyly. 

"Me too. Today was incredible. I got to meet my family for the first time, and they all seem like really great people. Going out with you tonight was just the icing on the cake," Brian said, surprised at his own honesty. Justin blushed. They were staring at each other for a moment, and he thought about leaning in to give Brian a kiss when he remembered that Ryan was in the back seat still. 

"Hey, Ryan, wake up, we're home," Justin called out. Ryan opened his eyes and looked confused for a moment as he looked around. 

"Looks like my little brother is a light weight," Brian teased. Ryan frowned at Brian. 

"I can usually hold my liquor just fine. I guess I had more to drink than I thought," Ryan mumbled. 

"It's true, I haven't seen him like this for a while," Justin said. Ryan opened the back door and stumbled out, then walked around to the driver's side and leaned against the door. 

"Well, Brian, welcome to our crazy family. I hope you don't run for the hills," Ryan said with a laugh. It was evident that he was still buzzed. 

"Me too," Brian smirked. "I hope you come out to visit again soon," Brian said. 

"I will. Or maybe you and Justin could come to visit Scott and I in Harrisburg," Ryan suggested. 

"That might not be a bad idea," Brian said thoughtfully. He had enjoyed hanging out with his brother tonight, and he really liked him. They actually had a lot in common. 

"All right, take care," Ryan said, and started walking, or rather stumbling, toward Justin's "apartment" over the garage. Brian turned his attention back to Justin. 

"I guess it's safe to assume that I'll be seeing you around," Justin said. 

"Yeah... maybe we - you and I, could hang out again some time," Brian suggested. 

"You mean like a date?" Justin asked with a smile. 

"I don't really do dates..." 

"Oh. Well, that's a shame, because I happen to be tons of fun on a date. So really, you're missing out," Justin shrugged. He opened the passenger's side door. "Well, I'll see you around, I guess," Justin said. 

"Yeah," Brian said with a slight frown. He wasn't sure why he felt a tinge of regret saying he didn't do dates. He watched as Justin got out of the car, come around to his side and lean his head inside his window. Before he knew what was happening, he felt Justin's lips against his. It was just a quick yet soft peck, but it sent a shiver from his head down to his toes, back up into his stomach and then finally straight to his cock, causing it stand at attention. 

"Let me know if you change your mind about that date," Justin whispered. 

"Uh..." Brian's voice squeaked, and he cleared his throat. "Okay." Justin gave him his brightest smile, taking Brian's breath away. 

"Night," Justin said, and walked toward his place. Brian's throat was dry and he watched Justin's perfect ass as he walked away. 

"What the fuck is happening to me?" Brian thought outloud. "What am I, a fucking muncher?" he cursed himself and let his forehead fall against the steering wheel. He shook his head and then laughed at himself. He didn't know why Justin had such an effect on him, but whatever it was had to stop. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Ryan threw himself face first onto Justin's bed. "Mmm, I love your bed. It's so fucking comfortable," Ryan mumbled. Justin laughed, as he shed off his clothes, and pulled on a pair of his comfy fleece pajama pants. He then pulled back the covers and crawled into the bed with Ryan. 

"That hasn't changed. I've missed you, Ry. Tonight was great; just like old times," Justin smiled, as he cuddled up to his best friend. 

"I've missed you too," Ryan said, turning to face Justin. "So I saw you leaning into Brian's car window. Did you do what I think you did?" Ryan asked. Justin giggled and then nodded. 

"I kissed him," Justin admitted. "God, you should have seen his face, he looked absolutely stunned," Justin laughed. 

"If a totally hot blond like you kissed me, I think I'd be stunned too," Ryan smiled, and then leaned in and kissed Justin on the cheek. 

"Oh, please," Justin said with a slight blush. 

"But seriously, Justin, I want you to be careful," Ryan said softly. 

Justin rolled his eyes. "Come on, Ryan, I'm a big boy." 

"Look, Brian seems like a cool guy. I like him. But I also know that he's a lot like I used to be, you know, not into commitment, and out for a good time. He is not the kind of guy who is looking for a serious relationship," Ryan warned. 

"Okay, you said he's a lot like you used to be. Well, no one ever expected you to settle down with anyone, and not only did you do that, but you also moved away from your family and the city you grew up in to be with him. I would say that you've come a long way from being the party boy stud that you used to be," Justin pointed out. 

Ryan sighed, and knew Justin had a point. "I'm just trying to look out for you." 

"I know, and I appreciate it, but I think I can handle it. I just have to be careful how I play this. There's one thing I do know for certain, though, Ryan, and that is that Brian Kinney wants me. I can tell by the way he's looked at me since the day we met, not to mention the hard-on he thought I didn't notice when we were dancing together. The kiss was the last sure sign," Justin said with a smile, remembering the feel of his lips against Brian's. 

"So what do you plan on doing?" 

"I'll do what works 90% of the time - play hard to get and act uninterested, while at the same time being totally irresistible," Justin said confidently. 

"You think that will actually work?" Ryan asked not sure if Justin was in over his head. 

"I don't know, but I'm willing to give it a try. And if it doesn't work out with him, then at least I'll probably get a good fuck out of it," Justin smirked, and then yawned. "Let's go to bed, Ry, I'm so fucking beat," Justin said snuggling up against his friend. 

Ryan nodded and reached over and switched off the lamp on the nightstand. "Goodnight, Justin, I love you," he whispered and kissed the top of the blond's head. 

"Love you too... 'night," Justin said sleepily, and almost immediately feel asleep. Ryan, held on to Justin a little tighter and sighed. Justin would never know how much he really did love him. 

When Justin and Ryan first met at age 15, they had both confessed they had crushes on each other. Nothing ever came of it, though, and their friendship continued to grow and they got closer, especially after Justin had permanently moved into the Jensons' home and was adopted. While Justin's little crush had turned into more of a friendly brother-like love, Ryan's feelings for Justin grew stronger in a more-than-friendly way, though he never said a word about it. He was too afraid of being rejected or even worse ruining their friendship. And though he had found Scott, and loved Scott, he was sure he'd never love anyone like he loved Justin. 

He wanted nothing but the best for Justin, and he could only hope that Brian didn't hurt him. He hated to see Justin get his heart broken. His luck with relationships hadn't been to good, and Ryan had always been the one to help him pick up the pieces when it happened, but now things were different. He couldn't be there all the time to look out for him and protect him. He would just have to hope for the best. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Sunday dinner over at Debbie's was lively as always. Brian hadn't said anything to anyone about his biological father, and figured this was a good time to tell them, since everyone was there. They were all pretty shocked to learn about Brian's news. 

"Holy shit!" Debbie reacted. 

"So where do you go from here?" Lindsay asked. 

"Well, I'd like to get to know them all better. Daniel has made it clear that he wants me to be apart of their family. He was shocked at first when I told him who I was, but amazingly enough, he immediately accepted me," Brian told them. 

"Wow that must have been something to meet brothers and sisters you never knew you had," Michael said. Brian nodded. 

"I also have a 5 year old niece," Brian told them. 

"Did you tell them about Gus?" Lindsay asked. 

"Yeah. Daniel was excited to learn that he had a grandson. He and his wife Alice want to meet Gus soon," Brian told Lindsay. 

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Melanie said doubtfully. 

"Why the fuck not?" Brian asked. 

"Well, we don't know them. I don't know if I can trust strangers being around Gus." 

"That's just too fucking bad because he's my son, and his grandfather has a right to meet him. I would never let anything bad happen to Gus," Brian told her coldly. 

"So you say," Melanie spat. Brian felt his hands tighten into fists. 

"Mel, please," Lindsay said. She hated always having to play referee with the two people she loved most in the world. She sighed, and looked at her best friend. 

"Brian, how about you bring Daniel and his wife over to our house for dinner sometime this week?" Lindsay suggested, causing Melanie to glare at her. 

"I'm sure they would like that very much. They were interested in meeting you two as well. I'll have to give him a call and see what he has to say about it," Brian said. Lindsay nodded, and tried to ignore the scowl Melanie gave. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

When Sunday dinner was over, Brian felt the need for a drink or two or ten. Melanie had been such a bitch throughout the whole dinner, and it took everything in him not to go off on the cunt and toss her ass out the window. It seemed anything Brian did or was associated with him, was perceived as bad or tainted in Melanie's eyes, and he was sick of it. He tolerated her for the sake of Lindsay and Gus. 

Brian found himself at O'Connell's, and briefly wondered why he came here instead of Woody's or Babylon. He smiled as he walked in the door and saw his sister Katie happy to see him. 

"Brian! It's good to see you again," she said, and gave him a hug. Brian felt a warm feeling rush run through him. He wasn't used to people being happy to see him. It made him feel good. 

"You too," he said, hugging her back. 

"Are you actually going to eat here this time?" she asked. 

"Actually, I already ate. I will eat here eventually, don't worry," Brian said. 

"Well, Dad already went home, but Justin's at the bar if you want to go chat him up and get a drink," Katie said. 

"Thanks," he said, and headed for the bar area. 

It was pretty empty in there, which wasn't surprising, since it was Sunday night. Brian found an empty barstool and couldn't help but laugh when he spotted Justin. His back was to him, and he was shaking his ass and singing along with the song playing on the speakers as he dried a recently washed beer mug with a cloth. 

"Hey, you ought to get some fries to go with that shake," Brian called out. Justin turned around and saw Brian sitting there with a smile, and felt himself turn red. 

"Brian, what brings you to this neck of the woods?" Justin said, walking over to him. 

"Just came by to get a drink. My night was a little tense," Brian admitted. 

"Really. You want to talk about it? I'm a bartender. That's my specialty," Justin joked, leaning his elbows on the counter. 

"Get me that drink first, and then I'll tell you," Brian said. Justin nodded, and then went about pouring Brian a double Jim Beam and set it in front of the brunet. Brian downed the shot, and waved for another one. Justin frowned, wondering what had Brian so upset, and poured him another double. 

"What's going on?" Justin asked. 

"It's that stupid bitch that helps raise my son. Smelly Melly," Brian scowled. Justin laughed at the nickname. 

"Smelly Melly, huh? And what did Smelly Melly do to upset you?" Justin asked. 

"She's just a bitch. I finally told my "adopted family" about Daniel and what's been going on, and when I mentioned I wanted him to meet Gus, she threw a fit, saying she couldn't trust a stranger around my son. She made it sound like I would be bringing in some crackhead off the streets. She pissed me off. She was being a bitch all night. I can't stand her. By the time I left, I definitely needed to wind down," Brian said. Somehow he felt much better after telling Justin all of that. 

"What did Gus's biological mom have to say about it?" Justin asked. 

"Lindsay offered to have Daniel and Alice over for dinner," Brian said. 

"Sounds like she doesn't share Smelly Melly's opinion," Justin said with a small smile. 

"No, she seemed intrigued by my news of Daniel and was eager to meet him," Brian said. 

"I'm sure things will turn out okay. Daniel can charm the pants off of anyone. Everyone loves him. Must run in the family. It seems all his kids have the same effect on people," Justin said with a wink. Brian felt his cock twitch. 

"So, what time do you get off?" Brian asked. 

'I'd love to get off right now,' Justin thought, and smirked. He looked at the clock on the wall. "Um, in about 20 minutes, why?" he asked curiously. 

"Well, I was thinking maybe you'd want to hang out for a bit," Brian said, his hazel eyes sparkling. 

"Uh, yeah, sure. What did you have in mind?" Justin asked. 

'For you to come over to my loft so I can fuck your brains out,' Brian thought, his cock getting hard at the thought. "We could hang out at my loft for a bit," Brian told him. Justin gave him a doubtful look. 

"To hang out, huh? Are you sure that's all we'd be doing?" Justin asked. 

"I guess there's only one way to find out," Brian said, leaning forward on the bar, his face only inches away from Justin's. The blond gulped, and shivered in pleasure at the thought of Brian's hands on him. 

"Okay, I'll uh, follow you to your place when I'm ready to get out of here," Justin told him. Brian smiled. 

"Great. I'll just wait here. In the meantime, I'll take a Guinness," he told Justin, and got out a cigarette and lit it, inhaling deeply. Justin nodded and got him his beer and went about cleaning up the bar. He was having trouble concentrating, knowing that Brian was watching him. He wondered what would happen when they were alone together at Brian's place. 

'Wait a second,' Justin thought. 'I'm supposed to be playing hard to get. Nothing can happen tonight,' Justin reminded himself, and let out a sigh. This would be difficult. He wanted to feel Brian's lips again and could just imagine his cock buried deep inside of him. Unfortunately, that thought made Justin want Brian even more. He almost wanted to throw the "playing hard to get" idea out, and just let Brian fuck him senseless. 

'Suck it up, Justin. Control yourself,' he told himself. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The two men entered Brian's loft, and Justin's eyes went wide with envy, as he looked around the tidy living space. 

"Wow, Brian, this place is great. I hope to be able to afford something like this one day," Justin said, taking in every detail. 

"It does the trick," Brian smiled. "Can I get you something to drink?" he asked. 

"No, I'm fine, thanks," Justin said. He continued to look around, observing all he could, trying to get a better idea of who Brian Kinney was. Alice once told him that you could tell a lot about a person by what was inside their home. 

He noticed that all the furniture looked expensive. There was a rather large flat screen television with a surround sound theater system in the living room. Everything had its place, and it was very neat and clean. The kitchen was nice, and Justin wondered if Brian had ever really used it to its full use. 

He only glanced towards the bedroom, determined not to tempt himself to do away with his plan to play hard to get. 

A large painting caught his eye, and he was momentarily stunned as he took in the details of the naked guy. The expression on the man's face was disheartening. He looked sad, vulnerable... lost. He wondered if that was how Brian felt and if that was the reason he bought this painting. 

"Do you like it?" Brian asked, coming up from behind Justin. 

"It's amazing," Justin said, his eyes still glued to the art. "Do you have any others?" he asked. 

"A couple. There's another one over there," Brian said, pointing to the opposite wall. Justin walked over to the other piece of art and suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. 

"Oh my God," Justin said. 

"What?" Brian asked, seeing the look on Justin's face as he walked over to where he was standing. 

"Brian... this is mine. I painted this," Justin said, softly. 

Brian gave him a surprised look, and then gazed back up at the piece. It was a painting of a blond boy, sitting on some steps, with an in depth look of sadness, confusion and hurt. "You painted this?" he asked, in disbelief. He couldn't believe the coincidence. 

Justin was amazed he was staring at one of his own paintings. "I painted this a few years ago and sold it at the Gay and Lesbian Center," he said, and then turned to Brian. 

"Wow... I had no idea. I actually hate the GLC, but Lindsay was having some of her art work being shown there, so I went. I saw that painting, and I... well, I just had to buy it. It was something I could identify with. The boy in the picture looked so sad and lost, and that is exactly how I felt at that age - hell, I still feel that way a lot of the time. I thought it was a beautiful painting," Brian said. He frowned when he realized all he had just revealed about himself. 

"That painting is of me, right after my parents said they didn't want a fag for a son, and kicked me out. I stood outside on those steps for a long time, just in shock and wondering what in the hell I was going to do," Justin said, feeling himself get a little emotional. 

Brian looked more closely at the boy's facial features in the painting, and saw the resemblance to a slightly older version of Justin. He turned to look back at the young man, and noticed that he had tears in his eyes. He lightly put his hand on Justin's shoulder. 

"That must have been difficult," he said softly. 

Justin nodded. "It was, but that's the way things were. When Daniel heard about what happened, he didn't hesitate to take me in. He and Alice, they saved me. They've given me so much, and I will always be in debt to them for everything they've done for me over the years," Justin said. He turned to face Brian, looked up at him, his blue eyes full of unshed tears. "You should feel very lucky Daniel is your father and that you're a part of his family," Justin whispered. 

Brian wiped away Justin's tears with his thumb. "I do feel lucky. And part of the reason is because if I hadn't found out about him, then I might not have met you," Brian said sincerely. He then leaned down and gave Justin a soft kiss. 

Justin's need for Brian became overwhelming, and he hooked his hand on the back of the other man's neck, bringing him closer, and deepening their kiss. He couldn't think of anything but how much he wanted to feel Brian's body, and soon their kiss turned fierce, and they began tearing at each other's clothes. 

Brian lifted Justin up, and the blond wrapped his legs around Brian's waist as they continued to kiss, and he carried him into his bedroom. They dropped onto the bed together, and Brian worked to take off Justin's pants. They were so caught up in their passion, and Justin was sure he hadn't been so hard in his life. He felt Brian start to slide off his underwear, and tease his stomach with his mouth, when suddenly he was filled with panic. He knew that he didn't want this to be just a one-time fuck. He had feelings for the man, and he couldn't let this happen right now. Things hadn't happened like they were supposed to. Justin had intended on playing hard to get and then reeling Brian in, but that is not how things turned out. He hadn't prepared for this, and though he really didn't want to, he had to stop. 

"Brian," Justin called out. 

"Yeah, talk to me," Brian said lustfully, kissing below his navel and licking around it. 

"Brian, we have to stop," Justin said. 

Brian looked at him in confusion. "Why? What's wrong?" he asked. 

"I'm sorry, I can't do this," Justin said, looking away. Brian sighed. What in the hell was going on? He wondered. He had thought that Justin had wanted him just as much as he did him. 

"What's the problem?" Brian asked. 

"God, I don't know what I was thinking," Justin said, running his fingers through his hair nervously. Brian continued to look at Justin in confusion, painfully aware of his throbbing cock in desperate need of attention. 

"Justin... did I do something wrong?" Brian asked. 

Justin looked at him and shook his head. "No, it's not that. It's just..." Justin paused in mid sentence again, choosing his words carefully. 

"What?" Brian pushed. 

Justin sighed, hoping that what he was about to say wouldn't make Brian run for the hills. "I'm not sure what's going on between us, but I feel something for you," he admitted. "And that makes this a bit complicated." 

Brian suddenly felt uncomfortable. The nice thing about having his sort of reputation, was that most of the men he was with knew the score. It was a fact that Brian Kinney didn't do relationships or love, and because those facts were well known about him, it usually saved him the hassle of having to explain about how things worked with him. That whoever was in his bed would get the fuck of their life, but that was where it ended. 

But Justin hadn't known him or his reputation. In a way it had been nice, because Brian didn't have to worry about behaving or acting in any certain way around him. And now he was there, laying in his bed, half naked, with a man who was so completely open and honest, and able to freely lay out his feelings. 

Brain was both admirable and frightened. 

"I don't know what it is you expect from me," Brian said, cautiously. 

"I guess what I'm saying is that I'm not exactly sure how I feel about you, but what I do know is that I don't want to be just some trick to you," Justin said softly. "I'm not interested in a one night stand," Justin told him. 

Brian sighed and lay beside Justin and looked at his beautiful face, as he took his words into consideration. 

"I'm not into playing games. I just thought I should be honest. I wouldn't want either of us to end up regretting anything." Justin said softly. 

Brian was quiet for a moment, not quite knowing how to put what he was thinking into words. "Justin, I don't really know what's going on between us either, but just so you know, I don't think of you as a trick," Brian admitted. 

Justin tried not to get ahead of himself at Brian's admission, but that was easier said than done. 

"I'm not going to lie; I was disappointed when you said we had to stop," Brian said. 

"I know I'm probably out of my mind," Justin said, shaking his head. 

Brian chuckled a little. "So what is it that you're trying to get at, then?" he asked. 

"I guess what I'm trying to say, is I'd like to get to know you better and see where we stand before making that kind of decision, that is, if you're willing to give me some time. If not, I can walk right out that door as your friend and we can forget any of this happened, no questions asked. I'm leaving it up to you," Justin said. 

Brian remained quiet, and Justin wondered what was going on in his head. When he finally spoke, Justin almost jumped. "Okay, so say I go along with this; tell me what's allowed," he said. 

Justin smiled brightly at him, making Brian feel warm all over. "Allowed?" Justin asked. 

"Yeah. What are the boundaries?" Brian asked. 

Justin smiled again, leaned in and captured Brian's delicious lips with his own. He snaked out his tongue, and Brian automatically opened his mouth invitingly, and deepened their kiss. After a moment, Justin pulled away from the breathtaking lip lock. "That's allowed," he whispered. 

Brian grinned and licked his lips. "How about blow jobs?" he grinned, only half joking. 

Justin laughed. "Well that sort of defeats the purpose of this whole thing now, doesn't it?" he said. 

"I just thought I'd ask." 

Justin looked at his cute expression and wanted nothing more than to jump on him and let Brian have his way with him. He knew he better leave before he changed his mind about not sleeping with Brian yet. He sat up and started reaching for his clothes. 

"On that note, I think I'd better go home. It's too tempting being here, especially like this," Justin said, motioning to his partially naked body. 

Brian nodded, and then handed him his pants that he had tossed on the floor earlier. 

"Thanks," Justin said, taking them from Brian and putting them on. 

After he got dressed, Brian walked him to the front door. Justin looked up at him, and smiled. Brian smiled back at him and leaned down and gave him an earth shattering kiss. When it ended, Brian smirked as he saw Justin's tented pants. 

"What's the matter, Sunshine?" Brian asked teasingly. 

Justin frowned at him. "That was so not nice, Brian," he said, pretending to be angry. 

"I thought it was pretty fucking good... obviously you did too," he said pointing to Justin's hard-on. 

"I'm so going to get you back for that," Justin murmured. 

"Can't wait," Brian said, opening the heavy metal door. Justin smiled and walked out. "Justin?" Brian reluctantly called out. 

"Yeah?" he asked, turning around. 

"Would you be opposed to grabbing some dinner with me sometime?" he asked. 

"You mean a date?" 

"Well, call it what you will," Brian said with a slight eye roll. 

Justin smiled at him brightly. "I'd like that. Give me a call," he said. Brian nodded, and then watched the blond leave. 

As Brian closed the door, he briefly wondered what had just happened. He should have been pissed that Justin put the brakes on him. If it were any other guy, he would have called them a tease and kicked them out of his loft. It was different with Justin, though. He understood that Justin wanted to be sure before sleeping with another man. He just got out of a relationship, and he was in protective mode. His feelings were fragile. Brian had to admit that he didn't really want to have a one night stand with with the blond, either. He wasn't really sure what he wanted. 

He was curious as to what might happen between the two of them. With sex out of the equation, they could end up seeing that nothing was there. On the other hand, if their chemistry and desire for one another were to grow stronger, when or if they did finally sleep together, it would probably be really great. 

Brian shook his head and smirked. It looked as though he were pondering a new relationship. Well, wonders never ceased. 


	6. The Date

After a quick shower, Brian rushed around his loft, keeping in mind that this was not one of those times that he should be fashionably late. He hadn't expected to be getting back to his loft so late, but a last minute meeting had been set up by a new potential client. They had gotten word how brilliant Brian Kinney was, and after a disaster with a previous ad agency, the owner of the company immediately contacted the Ryder Agency, hoping that Brian Kinney and his hardworking staff could fix and improve what the last agency had screwed up. As always, Brian dazzled them, and landed the account, but unfortunately it took a bit longer than he thought it would, and now Brian was rushing around -- something he hated to do. He liked to take his time, which was one of the reasons he was often late showing up to places. But this time was different. For some reason, he felt the need to be punctual. First impressions were everything, though why that mattered to him at this particular time, was unknown to him. 

It was a good thing that Brian had already decided earlier in the day what he was going to wear tonight. He opened his closet and quickly fished out the clothing he had already mentally picked out, and got dressed. He was busy styling his damp hair, when he heard a knock on his door. He groaned out in frustration. Why did everyone constantly feel the need to show up at his place unannounced? If he didn't leave very soon, he was going to be late. He decided to ignore the knocking - maybe whoever it was would think he wasn't home, or that he was passed out drunk, or fucking some trick, and would go the fuck away. 

No such luck. 

He heard his loft door slide open, and he sighed in annoyance. Mikey. 

"Brian?" he heard Michael call out as he walked into the loft. 

Brian didn't answer him, as he walked into his bedroom to put on his socks and shoes. 

"Didn't you hear me calling you? Why didn't you answer your door?" Michael asked with a frown as he stood in front of the steps that led to Brian's bedroom. 

"Maybe because I was fucking busy, Mikey," Brian answered, as he tied his laces, not bothering to look up at his best friend. 

"You don't have to bite my head off, asshole," Michael muttered. Brian smirked and finally looked up at the other man. 

"Well, being that you just walked into my loft uninvited, I think I have a right, wouldn't you agree?" Brian asked, staring his friend in the eyes. "So glad I gave you a key for emergencies," Brian said sarcastically, and then got up to grab his wallet and coat. 

"I thought we could go shoot some pool at Woody's. Emmett and Ted said they would meet us there," Michael said, ignoring Brian's previous comment. 

"If you had called first, you would have known that I already have other plans," Brian told him. 

"What, are you off to the baths?" Michael smirked. 

Brian slipped on his Hugo Boss jacket, and then grabbed his keys. He then put his arm around Michael's shoulders, and walked with him to the door. "Ba-bye, Mikey. Tell Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum I said hello," Brian said with fake enthusiasm, and walked out the door with him, closing it behind them, and then set the alarm. 

"But Bri --" Michael started to say. Brian quickly leaned in and gave Michael a peck on the lips - a sure way to get him off his back. 

"Gotta go, Mikey," Brian told him, and hurried down the steps. He figured it would be faster than taking the elevator, and he also wouldn't have to deal with Michael's questions. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Justin nervously looked himself over in the full length mirror and then ran his fingers through his hair. 

"God, Jay, you've already checked your hair out five times, and each time it's been fine," Katie told her adopted brother with a chuckle. She thought it was cute that Justin was all nervous and excited. 

"I just want to make sure I don't look like a total spaz," Justin told her. Katie rolled her eyes back at him. 

"Justin, you have never, nor will you ever be a spaz. Stop being ridiculous," Katie told him. Justin looked back at her and smiled. 

"I know, you're right. It's just that this feels like a big deal. Brian told me before that he doesn't believe in relationships, and he also said that he didn't do dates, and now here I am, waiting for him to pick me up. I just don't want to screw it up," Justin admitted. 

"Well, look at it this way. If you screw it up, it won't be because of your hair, or how you look tonight, because you look fucking hot. If you were straight, and not like a brother to me, I would so want to snag you for a boyfriend," Katie said with an honest smile. 

"Uh... thanks, I think?" Justin laughed. 

"So do you know where he's taking you?" she asked. Justin nodded. 

"An Italian restaurant called Piccolo Mondo," Justin told her. 

Katie's eyes went wide. "Wow! He certainly has expensive taste. I've heard that place is really nice," she told him. 

"Oh, that's just great," he said with a frown. He was uncomfortable around high maintenance people. His own biological family was that way, and he couldn't stand that about them. 

Katie could see Justin's mood change, and walked over to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. 

"Come on, don't think the worst. Give tonight a chance. First impressions are everything. If he turns out to be a lousy date tonight, just tell him you'd rather be friends," Katie suggested. Justin nodded at her in agreement. 

It was then that they heard a knock on Justin's door. Katie and Justin smiled at each other excitedly. 

"Well? Go on and answer it," she urged. 

Justin nodded and gave himself one last look in the mirror before answering his door. As he took in Brian's appearance, the first thing that came to his mind was, 'Fuck the date, I'd rather have _you_ as my main course.' Brian looked amazing. 

"Hey," Brian said with a smile, taking in Justin's appearance. He looked hot, tonight. Not that he ever didn't. Shit, he even looked hot when he was working behind the bar at O'Connell's. Justin was wearing dark fitted pants, and a sky blue button up shirt, and a dark blazer over it. He looked good enough to eat. 

"Hi," Justin replied back, and continued to stare at the tall drink of water. Soon they heard someone clearing their throat. 

"Shouldn't you guys get going before you're late for your reservation?" Katie asked. Brian looked up and noticed for the first time that his half sister was in the room. 

"Yeah, I guess we should, after all the effort I put into trying to get here on time," Brian smirked. 

"Well, have fun you two, and make sure to have him home by midnight," Katie teased. Justin let out a forced laugh and then gave her a dirty look. 

"Katie's a big kidder," he told Brian, who just nodded, and gave him a tongue in cheek smile. They waved goodbye to her and walked down the steps from his garage apartment. 

"What happens after midnight? Do your balls turn back into pumpkins?" Brian asked with a laugh. 

"Ha-ha! You really should do stand-up," Justin said sarcastically. Brian just laughed again. 

They made small talk on the way to the restaurant. The more they talked, the more Justin started to relax. He was looking forward to maybe having a glass of wine or something. He was still feeling ridiculously nervous going on this date with Brian. He wasn't even sure why he was so nervous. He'd been on plenty of dates before. He knew this was different though. Brian didn't "do" dates, but for some reason, he was making an exception for him. 

Justin was impressed when they arrived at the restaurant. It was spacious, and had a very warm and friendly environment. It was busy, and Justin looked around the large room, noticing that everyone seemed to really be enjoying themselves, as well as the food and drink. 

When they were seated, Brian immediately ordered them a couple of glasses of Merlot. Justin continued to look around the room, taking notice of the large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Brian watched as the other man continually observed his surroundings and smiled at him. 

"Is it to your standards?" he asked. 

Justin smiled, knowing that Brian was teasing him. He took a sip of his wine before answering. "It's very nice. Not only because of how it looks, because it's definitely classy, but it just has a great atmosphere. A warm, friendly, even romantic feel, to it," Justin told him. 

Brian was tempted to make a sarcastic remark about romance, but something told him to bite his tongue, for once. So instead, he just nodded, and then concentrated on the menu in front of him, even though he already knew what he wanted to order. 

After they ordered dinner, they took the opportunity to get to know each other better. Brian mainly stayed with the subject of work, not really wanting to talk about his life growing up or his past. Justin noticed, but didn't say anything. They were having a good time, and he didn't want to put a damper on the evening by bringing up things that Brian felt uncomfortable talking about. 

"So tell me about having Daniel as a father, growing up," Brian said, cutting into his New York steak. Justin grinned at him. 

"Daniel is a great father. He's always been there for me when I needed him. He's so dedicated to his family. I've never met a more kind, compassionate man. When my parents kicked me out of the house, I couldn't believe that he took me in without a second thought. I mean, it wasn't even up for discussion. I showed up at his door with bags in hand, with the intention of asking if I could stay for a couple of days, just until I could figure out what I was going to do. He took my bags from me and set them inside the house, and then, and I'll never forget this; he took me into a big hug, and just held me for a few moments, then said, 'If they can't accept you for who you are, then with them, is not really where you belong. Welcome to our family.' And that was it. I instantly became part of their family," Justin said with a smile. 

Brian smiled back at the blond. He was happy for Justin and was glad that he was taken in by Daniel's family. Who knows what might have happened if he hadn't. He only wished that he had known about his biological father when he was growing up. His life might have been a lot different. He might have been... happy. 

"Do you ever talk to your biological parents?" Brian asked. 

Justin shook his head. "No, and I'm more than fine with it being that way. The only thing is, they won't let me see or talk to my younger sister. I send her birthday and Christmas cards every year, but that's the most contact I've had with her," Justin said sadly. 

"Fortunately, my sister, Claire, is a homophobic cunt, so I don't care whether or not I see her. In fact, the farther away from her, the better," Brian smirked. 

Justin was a bit surprised by Brian's comment, and wondered if the other man might be a little buzzed from the wine. It was the first time he had said anything about his family. Or maybe, it could be that Brian was feeling comfortable enough to open up to him a little bit. He hoped that was the case. 

Conversation continued to flow as they ate their dinner, and they were both having a good time. When the waiter asked if they cared for dessert, Justin didn't hesitate to ask for the dessert menu. Brian chuckled at the blond and shook his head, as he watched the man look over the menu, intently. Justin looked up at Brian with a questioning look. 

"What?" he asked. 

"After all that garlic bread, the salad, and the huge-ass serving of Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, how is it even possible that you have room for dessert?" Brian asked. 

"There's always enough room for dessert," Justin simply answered with a smile, and then turned his attention back to the menu. Soon after, the waiter came back to their table. 

"Did you decide on what you would like?" the waiter asked. 

Justin smiled at him, and nodded. "I'd like The New York Cheesecake with berries and whipped cream," he told him, handing him the menu. 

"Very good choice," the waiter assured him. 

"We'd also like a couple of cups of coffee... and could you also bring two forks?" Justin added, and looked over at Brian, who was raising a brow at him. 

"No problem," the waiter replied with a smile, before walking away from their table. 

"Two forks?" Brian asked with an amused look. 

"Oh, come on. You can't miss out on dessert at a place like this. And look at it this way -- you won't feel guilty about eating a whole piece all by yourself, because you'll be sharing with me," Justin told him with an innocent smile. 

Brian didn't argue, and decided to just indulge for once. When the cheesecake arrived, he grabbed one of the forks and actually enjoyed sharing the dessert with Justin. 

After leaving the restaurant they got into Brian's jeep. Justin turned toward Brian and smiled. 

"Dinner was great, Brian. Thank you," Justin told him. 

Brian just smiled back at him and nodded, grateful that the younger man was pleased. 

"So what now? Are you planning on taking me home or are we going to keep this date going?" Justin asked. He was having a good time and hoped that Brian would want to spend some more time with him tonight. 

"It's up to you. If you want to go home, I'll take you home. Otherwise, I'm sure we can find _something_ to do for fun," Brian said, giving Justin an irresistible smile, that made his cock jump at attention. 

"What did you have in mind?" Justin asked. 

"Well, let's see. We could go to the movies..." Brian suggested. 

Justin wrinkled his nose in response. "Nah. There's nothing good playing right now," he said. 

"We could go bowling." Brian kept a straight face, though he was only being half serious with these suggestions. 

"Can't say I've ever been a fan," Justin replied with an apologetic smile. 

"Ever play darts?" Brian asked. That just made the other man laugh. 

Brian sighed loudly, pretending to be annoyed, and then seemed to be thinking about something. Justin waited for him to say something, feeling the anticipation starting to get to him. What did Brian have going on in that head of his? He was relieved when Brian finally said something. 

"Well, I know this really great place where we can park and make out like a couple of horny teenagers..." Brian suggested with a tongue in cheek grin. 

Justin laughed at him. "Oh, you do, do you?" he replied. 

"Yeah," Brian whispered, and then without thinking, he leaned in and brushed his lips against Justin's. As soon as Brian's lips touched his, Justin felt a great need inside of him, and moaned, kissing him back sensually. 

When they pulled away from each other, Brian smirked at the blond. "Is that a yes?" he asked. 

"Let's go," Justin answered. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

After letting himself into his apartment, Justin closed his eyes and leaned against the door for a moment, letting his head fall back against it, as he smiled with a sigh. He could still taste Brian's mouth on his, and still smell his scent all over him. 

He finally opened his eyes and then walked towards his bedroom to strip off his clothes, leaving just his boxers on. He plopped himself onto his bed, landing on his back, and laughed a little, at his own ridiculous giddiness. It had been a while since he had felt like this. This thing with Brian was all so new and exciting. He had no idea what would happen between them, but he liked Brian a lot, and hoped that the older man would continue to want to see him. 

Justin lit a cigarette and stared up at the ceiling, thinking of his evening with Brian. 

After dinner, Brian had driven them to a special spot he knew, that overlooked Downtown Pittsburgh. Brian and Michael used to go to this place a lot to get drunk or high, or to just hang out, when they were younger. They simply called it, "The Spot". 

It had been years since Brian had gone there, and he smiled as he remembered the first time he and Michael had discovered it. 

At the age of 14, they were too young to work, so to earn some extra money, they used to walk some of the neighbors' dogs. Sometimes the neighbors would refer them to their friends, and that was how they accidentally found "The Spot". On this particular day, Michael and Brian had been asked by one of their neighbor's friends, to walk her two large German Shepherds. It was an unfamiliar neighborhood, and as they walked the dogs along the road, the two canines had spotted some kind of small, furry, animal of sorts, and took off running after it, leading them into a wooded area. 

They began to explore the area, and that was when they came upon "The Spot". It soon became their favorite place to hang out. The lights of the city made the view even more beautiful at night, and it turned out to be one of the best places to see fireworks on the 4th of July. 

It had also become a good place for Brian to bring his tricks to fool around, since obviously he couldn't bring them home. This was a place where he was certain not to get caught. He knew there was no way his homophobic parents would ever tolerate or accept him as a gay man. "The Spot" was perfect for privacy, and he used it to his advantage as much as he could. And though he still visited the place from time to time over the years, he hadn't brought a trick back there since college. He didn't need to once he finally moved out of his parents' house. 

Brian parked his jeep, but before he turned off the engine, he opened the sunroof. Not only because it gave a nice view of the clear night sky, but it was ideal if either of them wanted to smoke. It was a perfect night for this. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the stars were out, shining brighter than ever. 

"Wow, Brian, this is incredible. I never even knew about this place," Justin said, with an impressed smile. He unbuckled his seatbelt and and looked at the view ahead of them. 

"Well, promise not to tell anyone about it. It's top secret," Brian said, giving him a little wink. Justin chuckled at him and nodded. 

"Boy scout's honor," he promised, and saluted. Brian smirked at him, and reclined his seat back a bit so that he was now leaning with his head tilted back, staring at the sky through the sunroof. Justin did the same, and they were quiet for a while, just looking at the sky, both of them a little lost in their own thoughts. 

Justin's mind drifted a bit, thinking about Alex. This was the kind of place his ex would have taken him to. He liked doing romantic things with Justin. It was too bad everything with him turned out to be all bullshit. It was a real shame, because Justin knew that they could have shared something really wonderful together. 

After a few minutes of silence, Brian looked over at Justin and noticed that he had sort of a sad, reminiscent look on his face. 

"He's not worth it," Brian whispered. 

Justin looked at Brian, stunned, wondering how he knew exactly what and who he was thinking about. He continued to look at Brian, but wasn't sure what to say. He didn't really want to talk about Alex. They were having such a good time tonight, and there wasn't anything that would kill the mood more than talking about an ex. 

Brian turned on his side a bit, and leaned closer to Justin. "You're amazing, Justin. And to be honest, for my own selfish reasons, I'm actually glad that he was too stupid to realize it and fucked up, because then maybe I wouldn't have my chance with you." Brian had surprised himself as soon as the words had left his mouth. He'd never said anything like that to someone before. 

Justin smiled brightly at Brian's words, and leaned in and kissed him. The kiss was soft and slow, and they enjoyed taking their time exploring each other's mouths. Surprisingly enough, for the next hour, their make out session never even went below the waist. Sure, there was "petting", but mostly, they just did a lot of kissing, seemingly not able to get enough of the other's mouth. Neither of them had done this sort of thing since high school, and it was different and exciting. 

This was especially different for Brian. Usually, it never took long to get right down to the fucking. When he was really horny and with a trick, he knew exactly what he wanted and didn't like wasting too much time with kissing. But this was different. Justin wasn't a trick that he wanted to fuck and then never talk to or see again. He liked him. A lot. 

Though Justin was rock hard as he and the gorgeous man next to him necked in the jeep under the stars, he enjoyed just being there with him. There was no real urgency tonight. Their affection towards each other was relaxed - at least for the most part. Not that it didn't get more intense. There was definitely a point where some "heavy petting" started up, and the heat between the two men radiated out of them. Every window was fogged up from their panting. It wavered back and forth, though, from intense to relaxed, and there was something about it that made it very intimate. 

There was a point where they actually took a break and smoked a cigarette and talked for a while... Then they went right back to devouring each other's mouths. Before they knew it, it was after 1:00a.m. 

Justin reluctantly pulled away from the other man, and sighed. "Brian, as much as I don't want you to, you should probably take me home now," he said regretfully, as he smoothed away some of Brian's sweat-matted hair from his forehead. 

"What, you getting tired of me already?" Brian smirked. 

Justin laughed. "No, it's just that I have a full day tomorrow. I have class in the morning, and then I have to be at the restaurant at noon to fill in for one of the waiters," Justin explained. 

Brian nodded at the blond, and gave him one last peck. "Fiiiiine," he said, rolling his eyes with a sigh. Justin laughed, knowing that he wasn't really upset with him. 

When Brian dropped Justin off at home, they shared one last kiss in the jeep. It wasn't really long, but it was nice, and they both smiled at each other when they pulled away. As he drove home, Brian felt a series of emotions running through him. He was confused, happy, and cursing himself for actually enjoying his date with Justin. The man who didn't "do" dates, actually went against his own standards and took someone out. And holy shit, he actually had a good time. 

And they didn't even fuck. Brian shook his head. When was the last time he had made out with a guy like that and not had sex? Uh, how about never... 

He actually enjoyed the feel of holding Justin in his arms. He thought about the genuine looks that they shared. The tenderness in their touch. The heat in his chest as well as the knot in his stomach every time their lips met. It was inevitable... He was officially turning into a lesbian. For a man who didn't "do" romance, he certainly played the part well. He would even go as far as to say that their night had been ridiculously romantic. 

And the scariest thing about it? He liked it. 

That thought alone, scared the shit out of Brian, and he then stepped on the gas pedal. He needed to get back to the loft as soon as possible. He needed a few drinks. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Later that week, it had been decided that Brian would pick up Daniel and Alice and they would all go to munchers' together for dinner. Brian was a little nervous that Melanie would be her usual cunt self, and be rude or possibly make snide remarks about him to his biological father. He knew that she wasn't happy about them coming to dinner, simply because Lindsay had sided with him instead of her. He hoped at least for Gus' sake that she would be civil to him and his guests, and not be judgmental. 

When Brian rang the doorbell, he certainly didn't expect Melanie to be the one to answer the door, and having a polite smile on her face, nevertheless! 

"Hi, I'm Melanie. You must be Daniel and Alice. So nice to meet you. Please, come in," Melanie said, stepping aside so they could enter her home. She made eye contact with Brian as he walked through the door behind them, and he gave her a look that said she better damn well behave herself. 

They all walked into the living room to sit down, and were making small talk, when Lindsay came downstairs, with Gus on her hip. Daniel and Alice turned to see Lindsay and the adorable 9 month old baby in her arms, and their faces immediately lit up. 

"Hi, I'm so glad you could make it," Lindsay said with a smile. She walked over to Brian and handed him his son, then kissed him hello. She then held out to her hand to Daniel. "I'm Lindsay. It's so nice to finally meet you. Brian has told me so much about you," she told him. 

Daniel took her hand and shook it, as did his wife, Alice. "It's really great to meet you too, Lindsay," Daniel smiled. He turned to see Brian smiling down at his son as he held him. "And who do we have here?" he asked with great interest. 

"This is your grandson, Gus," Brian said with a big smile. 

"Would you like to hold him, Daniel?" Lindsay asked, seeing the delighted look in the man's eyes. 

"I would love to," he told her, reaching out his hands to take Gus from his daddy. "Hey, there, Gus," he whispered adoringly. Gus gave his grandpa a big smile and then made an unintelligible sound. They all laughed, even Melanie. 

"I think you're a keeper," Lindsay said with a chuckle. 

"He's beautiful," Daniel said, not able to stop smiling. He always had a soft spot for children. "Ohhh, look at this. Yep. I can see he has his Great Grandfather's eyes," Daniel observed. They all sat down, and he continued to hold and play with his grandson until finally his wife spoke up about it. 

"Oh, no. You'll never get your son back now," she joked to Lindsay and Melanie. "Well, Danny, are you ever going to let me hold him?" Alice asked anxiously. Daniel gave his wife a sheepish smile, and handed her Gus, who immediately took to her, as well. 

Brian sat and watched the interaction between his son and new grandparents, and smiled. So far things had been okay that evening. There hadn't been a tense moment yet, and Smelly Melly was actually acting like a decent human being. He hoped the rest of the evening would go smoothly. 

Dinner was lively, with lots of conversation among them all. Daniel and Alice talked about their children, and the O' Connell's restaurant. Lindsay spoke about her love of art, and a bit about her upbringing. Even Melanie was actively involved in the conversation, talking about her practice, and went so far as to offer Daniel and Alice some free legal advice, should they ever need it. 

By the end of the night, it was already decided that Lindsay and Melanie, and of course Gus, would be over to the Jenson's home for dinner the following week. Just before Brian, Daniel and Alice left for the evening, Melanie pulled Brian aside to talk to him privately. 

"Look, uh..." Melanie started to say, trying to figure out the right words to say to Brian Kinney, when he turned out to be right. 

"Yes?" Brian asked with a bored, nonchalant expression, but on the inside was gloating that Smelly Melly was about to apologize to him. 

"I'm sorry that I judged them. They really are great people," Melanie admitted. Brian just nodded at her slowly. 

"And just so you know, they're welcome to visit with Gus any time," she added. Brian stared at her like he wondered who the Hell this woman was and where the real Melanie resided. He then gave her a small smile. 

"Good," he said. He turned to walk away, but then paused and looked back at her. "Know that I would never let anything happen to my son," he told her seriously. Melanie nodded at him, and then looked away for a second, feeling a little guilty about what she had said before. 

"I know," she said softly. They both looked at each other then, an unspoken truce having been made between them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

A few days later, Brian sat in his loft, alone. He had a glass of beam in one hand, and his eyes were glued to his cell phone, which was sitting on the coffee table in front of him. 

He hadn't seen or talked to Justin since their date. He'd lost count of how many times he had tried to pick up the phone and give the him a call. Every time though, he would either lose his nerve, or talk himself out of it. He was still confused about his feelings for the younger man, and wasn't sure what to do about it. He'd kind of hoped that Justin would call him. That would have taken some of the pressure off. 

"Fuck this," Brian said out loud, and stood up, grabbed his cell and his jacket, and headed out the door. He was going to find a hot trick to fuck at Babylon. Maybe that would help to clear his head. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Babylon was packed, which was to be expected for a Friday night. Justin had decided that he needed to get out of the house. He couldn't just sit around forever and wait for Brian to call. What kind of pathetic loser was he? He was sure that Brian would have called him by now - at the very least to say he didn't want to date him anymore, but he hadn't heard from the other man at all. 

He wondered if he had done or said something to scare Brian off. It didn't make sense to him, though. Brian had seemed to really enjoy their date, and being with him that night. He could even tell that Brian had seemed to not want the night to end as much as he didn't. He had no idea what had gone wrong. After the whole situation was practically driving him insane, he finally decided that he was going to try to stop analyzing it, and let it go. 

In the meantime he just wanted to go out and have a good time. Tonight he had wanted to dance, and that's exactly what he intended to do. After a few drinks, he headed out to the dance floor alone, not caring whether or not he had a dance partner. He knew if he wanted one, it wouldn't take long to find someone. He had some good moves, and hot guys always wanted to dance with him. 

As he expected, just moments after Justin had stepped out onto the dance floor, a tall, built, dark-haired hottie had come up behind him and started grinding his hips into him. They danced several songs together, and had been having a pretty good time, until Justin felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned around, surprised to see the dirty blond man standing there, staring at him, and he frowned at him. 

"Alex, what are you doing here?" Justin asked, over the loud music. He knew that Alex wasn't into clubs. It wasn't his thing. That had been one of the few things between them that they didn't have in common. 

"I wanted to see you," Alex said with a sad smile. 

"How did you know where to find me?" Justin asked. 

"I didn't. I went to your apartment but no one answered the door. This was the next place I checked," Alex told him. 

Justin turned around to look at his dance partner and saw that he had already found someone new to dance with. 

"What, is that your new boyfriend or something?" Alex asked bitterly. 

"No, I just met him. We were just dancing," Justin told him. 

"It looked like there was more than that going on from where I was standing," Alex said accusingly. Justin frowned at his ex-boyfriend. 

"I don't even know why I'm trying to explain anything to you. I don't owe you anything. It's none of your business," Justin told him. 

"Look, I didn't mean to upset you. I just really want to talk to you. Please?" Alex asked. Justin sighed. He didn't want to talk to Alex, but maybe if he did, they could get some things straight, and then he would leave him alone. 

"Fine. But make it quick," Justin told him. 

"Let's go outside. It's hard to hear in here, and I don't want us to have to shout over each other," Alex said. Justin reluctantly nodded, and then followed Alex outside to the back entrance of Babylon. There were a few guys getting sucked off against the brick wall next to them. 

"Okay. You wanted to talk, so talk," Justin said, his arms crossed over his chest. 

Alex nodded and then sighed heavily. "I want you to come back, Justin," he said. 

Justin looked at him like he was crazy, and felt like laughing. Alex saw the look on the blond's face and put out his hand, signaling that he wanted Justin to hear him out. 

"I know I made a huge mistake. I am human, after all. I just want you to give me another chance. We can start slow, if you want. I just... I can't live my life without you in it," Alex said, his eyes a little watery. 

Justin looked at his ex-boyfriend, and felt himself wanting to give in. He wanted to believe that the other man was telling the truth. He wanted what they had, back. But then he reminded himself that they didn't have what he thought they did. He didn't trust Alex. They couldn't have a relationship if there wasn't any trust. 

"Allie... I --" 

"Justin, please," he begged. 

Justin sighed and then looked at his feet for a moment before looking into Alex's eyes again. "I'm sorry, Allie. No. I can't," he whispered. 

Alex's expression turned angry, and he grabbed Justin roughly by the elbow. "I told you I was sorry! What the fuck else do you want from me?" he yelled. Justin was surprised by Alex's outburst, but glared back at him. He shook free from the other man's hold. 

"For you to leave me the fuck alone!" Justin yelled back. 

Alex suddenly slammed Justin back against the brick wall, hard, knocking the breath out of the blond. "I'm not going anywhere," he said in a dangerously angry tone, all of his weight against Justin, holding him roughly in place. 

"Get off of me!" Justin yelled, struggling to try to get away, but was unsuccessful. Alex was way stronger than him. Justin looked over at the men who were getting sucked off, but they didn't seem to be paying any attention to what was happening around them, or even care. 

"Not until you agree to give me a second chance," Alex growled. 

"Get the fuck off of him!" A voice yelled, and Justin looked up to see Brian pull Alex off of him. Alex was about to lunge for Justin again, when Brian punched the man in the face, sending him backwards onto the concrete from the force of the blow. 

Brian shook out his hand that he'd used to punch Alex, only minimally noticing the sting, and then immediately walked over to Justin. 

"Are you okay?" he asked. Justin only nodded, still in shock from the events. It had all happened so fast, and he briefly wondered how he had lost control of the situation so quickly. Brian hugged him, knowing that he needed comfort. "Come on, let me take you home," he offered. Justin still remained silent, and nodded at him again. As they were walking away they heard a muffled groan. 

"Justin, I love you! Don't leave," Alex pleaded. Justin winced at the words, and turned his back to him again, and allowed Brian to lead him back to his jeep. 


	7. Something More

Justin was quiet in the jeep as Brian drove them away from Babylon and towards Justin's place. He kept his face turned away, blankly staring out the passenger window. Brian kept sneaking glances at the blond, wondering what was going through his mind. His blank expression revealed nothing, and Brian didn't know whether he was okay or what to say to him. Finally, the silence was getting to be too much, and Brian finally decided to break it first. 

"Justin --" Brian said softly. 

"Thank you," Justin said, cutting him off, not bothering to turn to look back at Brian. 

"Are you okay?" Brian asked. 

Justin shrugged. "I'm not really sure how to answer that," he said, honestly. 

Physically, he was fine, even though he figured he might have a bruise from Alex shoving him against the brick wall outside of Babylon. Emotionally, he was distraught. He was still in shock about what had happened with Alex. He had never seen his ex lover so angry, nor had the other man ever been violent with Justin before. It was like he was a complete stranger to him. He couldn't believe that Alex had turned on him so quickly. 

"Do you want to tell me what that was all about?" Brian asked. 

Justin sighed. "I went out by myself tonight because..." Justin paused. He didn't want to admit that the reason he went out that night in the first place was to help himself forget about Brian and why he hadn't heard from the man. 

"...I wanted to dance," he said, and glanced over at Brian to check for a change of reaction. There was none. Brian didn't appear to be judging him, but he couldn't tell for sure. His expression was emotionless, and he just nodded and listened. 

"And in case you're wondering, I didn't go there with him or plan to meet him there," Justin continued, making sure Brian was clear on the facts. 

"I didn't think you had," Brian said, hearing the slight defensiveness in the blond's voice. 

"He was the last person I expected to run into. He hates going to clubs," Justin added. 

"So he sought you out." 

Justin nodded. "Alex approached me on the dance floor, and said that he had been looking for me. He made some jealous comment about me dancing with some guy, and it pissed me off. Then he apologized, and said he really needed to talk to me, but wanted to go someplace where we didn't have to shout over the music. I figured it'd be better to just get it over with since he might not have left me alone until I heard him out," Justin explained, but now as he said it out loud, he realized how foolish he had been to follow him out there and wished he would have just told him to fuck off. 

"When we got outside he said that he wanted us to get back together, and I said I couldn't. Then... he just completely freaked out. I've never seen him like that before," Justin said, thinking about the look on Alex's face as he slammed him up against the brick wall. He felt a shiver go down his spine, and tried to put the visual out of his mind. 

"Fucking asshole," Brian spat, shaking his head. 

"Yeah. I guess we don't always know people as well as we think," Justin said, sadly. Then as if something suddenly occurred to him, he looked over at Brian curiously. 

"How did you know Alex and I were out there?" he asked. 

"I was at the bar getting a drink when I saw him talking to you on the dance floor. You didn't look too happy to see him, so when I saw him guiding you towards the back entrance..." Brian paused, realizing that he kind of sounded like a stalker, and really hoped that Justin didn't think he had been following him around everywhere. "I - just wanted to make sure you were okay," Brian admitted, not meeting Justin's eyes, and trying to focus on the road ahead of him as he drove. 

Justin nodded, and then turned to face the window once again. "I'm glad you did," he said softly. 

"So am I," Brian replied. It was quiet then, and Brian knew that it really wasn't any of his business but had to ask. "Are you going to do anything about it?" 

He saw a startled look of realization on Justin's face. 

"I don't know yet," Justin told him. "I have to think about it. I don't really think he meant to hurt me; he's not like that. I think he's just having a hard time accepting that it's over between us," Justin said. 

"Who are you trying to convince more, me or yourself?" Brian asked with a raised brow. It bothered him that Justin seemed to be in denial about his ex-boyfriend's capabilities. 

"Look, I don't really want to talk about this anymore right now," Justin said. 

"Fine," Brian told him. He wanted to tell Justin to be careful. That he should seriously consider getting a restraining order, even, but it really wasn't any of his business, and Justin would probably just get pissed at him for interfering. The truth though, was that he cared about what happened to the blond. Of course there was no way in Hell he was going to voice that out loud, so he kept his further concerns and comments on the matter to himself. 

Then there was silence again. Brian sighed. He knew it might not be the right time to bring this up, but he figured that if he didn't do it right now, that he might not do it later. 

"Listen... I'm sorry I haven't called," Brian told Justin. He frowned at himself, thinking how pathetic he sounded, and then realized that he'd never said that to anyone before. He couldn't ever remember having apologized for not calling someone. He had never felt he had to. 

Justin looked over at Brian, a bit taken by his apology. "I wondered about that," he admitted. "I thought we had a great time last weekend." 

"Yeah, we did. I just... well, I've been kind of preoccupied with work lately," Brian said, quickly thinking of a valid excuse. It wasn't a lie; he actually had been very busy with work -- but he knew, and suspected Justin probably knew, that he could have found time to call him. He wasn't about to admit that, though, nor the reasoning behind it. He couldn't tell Justin that he hadn't been able to stop thinking about him ever since their incredible date had ended, and that no one had ever had that kind of affect on him before. He just didn't know what to say to him. This vibrant young man made him feel things that he wasn't used to feeling, and it had freaked him out a bit. 

Justin looked at Brian, studying his slightly nervous expression. It was plain to see that Brian had obviously been avoiding him since their date. Thinking that maybe Brian wasn't as into him as he thought, he then decided to make things easier for the other man by letting him off the hook. 

"It's okay, Brian, I get it. You really don't have to make excuses. If you don't want to go out again, I understand. I'm okay with just being friends, if that's what you want," Justin assured him, trying his best to hide his disappointment. He was capable of being friends with Brian, but the fact did remain that he liked the man, and had grown curious to explore what might develop between them. 

Brian looked over at Justin, speechless from the younger man's bluntness, as well as his misconception. Justin had it all wrong, but Brian couldn't blame him for thinking that way. If it had been him, he probably would have thought the same thing. He didn't reply for a few moments, trying to think of what to say in response to the blond. "Honestly, I'm not sure what I want," Brian admitted, quietly. 

"Do you like me?" Justin asked seriously. 

Brian smirked at the question, choosing not to answer. Justin frowned at Brian's response, not sure what his reaction had meant. Brian was still very much a mystery to him, and he was learning slowly but surely that the older man liked it that way. He was a guarded and complex person who didn't feel he needed to justify or explain his actions; Justin had picked that much up, but on some level had felt that Brian saw him differently. There was something in those hazel eyes that told him that he wanted to trust him. 

Brian pulled into the Jenson's driveway, put the car in park, and turned off the ignition. He figured he might as well, if they were going to talk. They each unbuckled their seat belts and then he turned to face Justin, who was staring at him. 

"I didn't think it was too difficult of a question." 

Brian pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Look, Justin, I'm not really good at this sort of thing." 

"With what sort of thing, exactly?" Justin pressed him. 

"This," he said, throwing his hands up and shrugging. "I know nothing about dating or having a boyfriend, and I'm not used to dealing with the emotions that are roused from those types of... rela -- things," Brian said, stuttering over the dreaded "R" word. "I just... I don't know what you want from me." 

"Brian, I haven't asked you for anything. We haven't even really discussed what our feelings are," Justin pointed out. 

"I know... it's just that I'm not sure that I can handle any of this. I mean, I know what you'll eventually expect, and I'm not sure I can give it to you," Brian told him, looking into his beautiful blue eyes. 

Justin nodded, and then looked down towards his feet as he gathered his thoughts for a moment before returning his eye contact with captivating hazel orbs. "Okay, that's fair. Why don't you tell me then what it is that _you_ would want out of all of this?" Justin said. 

Brian blinked, not knowing how to answer that. What did he want from Justin? He didn't think of him as a trick, and although he did want to fuck him, he didn't just want sex out of him - he could get that anywhere. Justin was different. He felt they were friends, but he also felt something deeper than that for the young man. He was definitely attracted to him. He admired his kindheartedness, sense of humor and intelligence. He felt good around him. He was fun to hang out with, talk to, and he liked definitely liked kissing him. 

Brian stopped going through the mental list of things he liked about Justin, and saw that the blond was patiently waiting for his answer. "I... don't know," he finally answered. He frowned at himself, knowing that it was the lamest answer he could have given. 

"You're not making this easy," Justin smirked, and smiled at Brian half-heartedly. 

"I told you I was no good at this sort of thing," Brian chuckled lightly. 

Justin laughed too, and nodded. "Yeah, I'm beginning to see your point." He ran his hand through his own hair and sighed. "Okay, maybe if I started by telling you how I feel, it might help?" Justin suggested. 

"Okay," Brian agreed, not sure what he was getting himself into. 

"I like you, Brian. I had a great time with you last weekend, and I really enjoyed hanging out with you before then. I understand that you may not be looking for a relationship... and honestly, I'm not sure I want that either. As you know, I just got out of one that ended badly," Justin told him. Brian smirked in response. 

"But what I _am_ looking for, is someone who is fun, caring, honest; someone who treats me with respect..." 

"I didn't hear smoldering good looks or nine inch dick in that list of qualities," Brian said with a smile. 

Justin laughed. "Well that goes without saying," he added. 

"So, you weren't trying to describe me, were you? If so, then I think you might be shit out of luck," Brian told him. 

Justin frowned. "Bullshit. You are all of those things, in my eyes. I think you're a great guy. I really do," Justin told him honestly. 

"Would you still think I was a great guy if I said I didn't think I could ever be monogamous?" Brian challenged. 

"I'm not really sure how I feel about that. I was kind of hoping that we could just continue seeing one another, get to know each other better, and see how things go from there," Justin told him. 

"That suspiciously sounds a lot like dating," Brian pointed out. 

Justin wanted to laugh. He'd never met someone so nervous over the act of dating. 

"Well, yeah... it is. How else are we going to find out what it is that we both want?" Justin asked. He saw the hesitancy and what may have either been fear or doubt or both, in Brian's eyes. "I'm not asking for anything right now, except your time. That's it. No commitment, no promises, no obligations, are required. No locked doors. No games. There are only two things I would expect from you -- honesty and respect," Justin said, seriously. 

"And what if it's not working for me?" Brian asked. 

"If you want to put it all to a stop, just say so. I won't make an issue of it. I'm not about staying in someone's life when it's obvious they're ready to move on. It can't be one-sided; both people have to want it for it to work," Justin said, thinking about his past relationships which lacked communication. If some of his exes had just been honest about their true feelings, it would have saved a lot of wasted time, heartache and pain. 

Brian thought about what Justin was proposing and tried to think of a single reason this arrangement wouldn't work for him, but came up empty. He would still have the option to fuck tricks if he wanted to. He wouldn't have to worry about a jealous or nagging boyfriend. On an even more positive note, he would get closer to the blond, and he knew he wanted that too. He was curious to see if things between the two of them would go anywhere. This could be sort of a test for him. He'd never really tried this whole dating thing before. Maybe he should give it a shot? What did he have to lose? 

"I think I can live with that," Brian replied with a smile. Justin smiled back at him, excited and satisfied that Brian was willing to give things a try. They looked at each other a moment, and suddenly, Brian's hand then found its way to Justin's knee. "So, shall we seal this deal with a kiss?" he asked him, a sparkle in his eye. 

Justin grinned at Brian widely, and leaned towards him to meet his waiting lips. Simultaneously, their mouths opened up to one another, and their tongues met and swirled together, deepening their kiss. They each moaned, enjoying once again, the feel of the other. Brian's hand moved to Justin's crotch and started rubbing his semi-hard cock through his pants. 

They were suddenly startled when the sensor light above the garage turned on, and shined brightly into Brian's jeep. 

"What the fuck?" Brian asked, squinting his eyes. They then saw Katie walking over to the car, giving them a curious, but amused look. Justin rolled down his window. 

"Hey, Brian. Justin. Where did you guys come from?" she asked. 

"Didn't your mommy ever tell you about the birds and the bees?" Brian said sarcastically. 

"Cute," she smirked and rolled her eyes. 

"Brian gave me a ride home from Babylon," Justin explained. "Where are you going at this time of night?" he asked. 

"Over to Matt's. He just got home from hanging out with the guys, and asked me to come over," she told them. 

"Ah, a bootie call," Brian teased. 

"Uh, not... If I was a bootie call, I'd be his ho instead of his girlfriend," she laughed. 

"So who's the top and who's the bottom?" Brian asked with chuckle. 

Justin shot Brian a death glare, and then looked at Katie to see what her reaction would be. 

"Wouldn't you like to know," Katie shot back with a sly smile. 

"You look sweet, but the sweet-looking ones are usually the wild ones whom end up calling the shots in bed," Brian said with his tongue in his cheek. Katie blushed, and was saved from answering when Justin interrupted their banter. 

"Eww! Must you be so graphic? I'd rather not engage in hetero sex-talk; I don't need the visual, thank you very much," Justin said, looking like he wanted to gag. 

Katie then laughed at her adopted brother. "Oh, poor widdle Jussie can't handle a widdle discussion involving straight sex," Katie teased, pinching Justin's cheeks. Brian laughed, and then enjoyed seeing Justin's cheeks flush pink in embarrassment. 

"Okay, are you leaving now?" he asked her in annoyance. She only laughed in response. 

"Ooh, grouchy. Better do something about that, Brian. You don't want to be around him when he's pissy," she warned. 

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Brian told her. Justin's face turned a darker shade of pink. 

"Have fun boys," she sang, giving them a knowing glance, and then headed toward her car, which was parked in front of the house. 

"Well, wasn't that a total mood spoiler," Justin said with a grumpy pout. Brian couldn't help but notice how adorable the blond's expression was, and would have laughed out loud, except that it would have been counter productive to his goals. 

"Well, maybe if you invited me up to your place, I could help change that," Brian suggested. 

Justin raised a brow at Brian's boldness. The older man was staring at him lustfully, and he looked absolutely irresistible. He licked his lips and smiled. 

"Oh really? And how would you plan on doing that?" Justin asked with a teasing smile. 

Brian leaned in like he was going to kiss Justin, but then stopped right before he reached his lips and instead moved to Justin's right ear, and sucked and licked at its lobe. Justin moaned, and felt himself harden again. 

"Why don't I show you?" Brian whispered seductively. That's all it took, and Justin was practically pulling Brian out of the car and up the steps to his place over the garage. 

Justin closed and locked the door behind them, and Brian immediately shrugged out of his jacket, and lay it down on the love seat in the small apartment. 

"Wow, this place is really..." 

"Cute?" Justin offered. 

"I was going to say small," Brian smirked. 

Justin laughed. "Well, it's no palace, but it suits me just fine. I don't need much, really," he shrugged. "It's got the essentials -- a bathroom, a fridge, stereo, TV... a bed..." Justin gave Brian a sexy smile, which made Brian's heart skip a beat, and his body temperature rise a few degrees. He glanced over towards the full size bed across the room, and swallowed hard. 

Justin gave a self-satisfying grin. "You want something to drink?" he asked casually, walking slowly towards Brian. 

"Huh-uh," Brian said, shaking his head. "I'd much rather have something else," he purred, and captured Justin's lips. Justin happily obliged, and offered the man his tongue, and felt his hard rod straining in his pants as their mouths and tongues moved together. He felt Brian's arms slide up his back and then loosely grip the back of his neck, pulling him impossibly closer to him. 

As they embraced, they could feel the other's hard cock against their bodies as they pressed tightly together. Brian moaned, and unconsciously started leading Justin towards the bed, never breaking their kiss. When they reached the edge of it, he quickly pulled Justin's shirt up and over his head, and tossed it to the side. Justin immediately started working on the buttons on Brian's shirt, and had it off in record time. 

Each man stared lustfully at the other's naked torso before diving into another passionate kiss. 

They simultaneously fell onto the bed, their hands all over each other, and their lips still attached. They rolled around on the bed, fighting for dominance. Though Justin was versatile, he was used to others submitting to him when he felt the need to be in control. Brian, always being the notorious top, fell right into his comfortable role as such, and made all the moves to let Justin know who was running the show. He was surprised when Justin didn't seem to be backing down, and seemed to be challenging him and egging him on. 

Justin rolled them over so that he was on top of Brian. He stopped kissing Brian then, and stared lustfully into his hazel eyes, which gazed back into Justin's with an equal passion. He slowly dragged one hand down the man's chest and kept trailing down until he reached the top button of Brian's 501s. He expertly unbuttoned the pants and then slid the zipper down slowly, allowing them to hear each tooth of metal until it had been pulled down all the way. 

Justin was pleasantly surprised to see that Brian wasn't wearing any underwear, his thick, hard, cock pointing upward, and resting against his stomach. He smiled down at Brian. "Did you forget something?" he asked, and helped Brian pulled the jeans off. 

Brian smirked. "Underwear is way overrated. Besides, they're constricting." 

"I can see why you would say that," Justin said, gripping Brian's large cock, making the older man gasp. Justin kissed him, and Brian lost himself in the taste of Justin's mouth and the heavenly feeling of the blond's hand jerking him off. He could feel himself losing control and immediately snapped himself back into reality and rolled them over so that he was now hovering over Justin. 

Justin just smiled, knowing that Brian was more comfortable in this position. "It doesn't seem fair that I'm naked and you're not," Brian said, and proceeded to remove Justin's pants. Unlike Brian, Justin was wearing underwear, which were now tented and wet from his leaking cock head. 

"See?" Brian chuckled. "What did I tell you; constricted. I should probably help you do something about that," he said, and slipped his fingers into the waistband of Justin's underwear and slowly slid them down over his hips. After tossing them in an unknown direction, he immediately dipped down and licked the pre-cum dripping from Justin's slit. 

"Ahh!" Justin gasped in surprise. He looked down at Brian, whose eyes were boring into his as he swirled his tongued around the head of his dick and then took it into his mouth, sucking on it lightly. Justin was sure he'd never been this turned on in his life. The sight of Brian like this was almost too much, and he started to worry that he'd end up prematurely cumming like some silly schoolboy. 

Brian could see from Justin's reaction how much he was enjoying his mouth on the head of his dick, and decided to take it a step further, and slid down further until he felt the glorious cock at the back of his throat. 

"Shit! Brian!" Justin moaned. 

Brian chuckled, pleased that Justin was enjoying this as much as he was. He let his mouth slip from Justin's length, and then slowly continued stroking him. He then brought two fingers to his mouth and wet them with his saliva. When they were lubed enough he placed them at Justin's quivering anus, slipping one digit in. 

Justin moaned at the pinching intrusion and was briefly reminded of the absence of penetration over the last couple of months. It'd been a while since he'd had this. He hadn't had much of a sex life since he and Alex had broken up, and what seldom sexual encounters he did have, he had been the top. 

He moaned louder when he felt Brian insert a second finger into him and slowly slide them in and out of his tight hole. He sighed and enjoyed what Brian was doing to him. Brian had won this round. He had willingly submitted to the older man, and wasn't minding it a bit. It felt too good to care about anything else but what he was feeling at that moment. 

Brian removed his fingers from Justin and heard him groan at the loss. 

"Roll over," Brian gently commanded. Justin obeyed, more than willing to oblige. He couldn't wait to have Brian inside of him. He felt Brian run his hands up his back, and suddenly felt his hot breath against his ear. 

"God, you're hot," he whispered, causing a shiver to shoot down Justin's spine. "Just so we're clear..." Brian started. "Do you want me inside of you tonight, Justin... or is it too soon?" Brian asked, and then sucked lightly on the side of the blond's neck, making him whimper. 

Justin remained quiet, taking Brian's question into consideration. Initially, even though Justin had wanted Brian for a while, he held back because he wanted them to take things slow, for more than one reason. They had been able to do that the last time they saw each other, but right now, he couldn't see himself stopping anything that Brian did to him. He was loving it all too much to stop, and frankly, he couldn't think of anything better at the moment than for Brian to be fucking him soundly into his mattress. 

"Justin?" Brian asked again, when the blond didn't answer. He saw a slight look of hesitance, but also noted the expression on his face that said he was ripe and ready to go. He just needed Justin to say it. 

"Do..." he paused and then kissed Justin's neck again. "...you..." he continued, taking Justin's earlobe in his teeth and biting it softly. "...want me..." he then licked the spot he had just bitten. "...inside you..." He lightly ran his index finger down Justin's back and then traced invisible lines over his ass. "...tonight?" he finished, whispering that last word as seductively he could into Justin's ear. 

Justin could have came right then if he'd wanted to. Brian was very persuasive, and it was definitely looking like his plans to wait were about to be void. But still... if they rushed into things... 

"Brian... I --" Justin started to say, when suddenly, Brian started trailing his tongue down his back. "Ahh..." he moaned as the incredible feeling of this man's tongue traveling down his back made his mind go blank, the words he had been trying to say, now forgotten. The only conceivable thing he could manage was that the tongue that was on him at this instant was traveling further down south, and the fact that he was about to feel it someplace he hadn't felt a tongue in a very, very, long, time. 

Brian's tongue reached the top of Justin's crack, and he then spread his buttocks before continuing his path down to his goal. When his tongue finally reached the puckered bud and lapped at it, Justin cried out in pleasure. 

"Yes!" 

Brian grinned and swirled around the hole, getting it nice and slick. 

"Yes?" Brian asked. "Yes, what?" he urged, his grin never leaving his face. 

"Yes, I want you... tonight," Justin panted, barely able to get the words out. 

Brian then plunged his tongue into Justin's hole, and the blond bucked back, needing to feel it deeper inside of him. 

"It's been so long," Justin whispered, more to himself. 

Brian fucked Justin with his tongue, preparing and loosening him up for the main event. His own cock was rock hard, and leaking, and he started jerking himself off. 

"Now, Brian. I want you now," Justin pleaded. 

Brian withdrew and quickly grabbed the condom and lube from his pants pocket. Justin lay there and watched him anxiously, his lids heavy, and his eyes dilated. 

Brian looked over at Justin laying on his stomach, his perfect lithe body and hot ass displayed on the bed, with his face turned towards him and watching him lustfully. He wanted this image to be imprinted in his mind forever. Justin looked so beautiful, and he couldn't wait to be inside of him. 

Brian slipped the rubber on his dick and lubed it up. He leaned over Justin's back, and placed a kiss at the base of his neck. It was then that he noticed the darkening bruise on his back from Alex shoving Justin against the wall earlier that evening. He winced, as he stared at it, but then kissed the area lightly, before caressing the rest of Justin's back. He then placed his cock right at Justin's entrance. 

"Brian..." Justin said and then turned to look at him, his expression a little vulnerable. 

Brian thought maybe Justin had changed his mind. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked softly. He didn't want to stop, but he would if Justin wasn't ready for this yet. 

"No... it's just that... well I haven't bottomed in a while..." Justin explained, and felt himself blush a little. 

Brian leaned forward and kissed Justin tenderly on the lips for reassurance. "I promise I'll be gentle - unless you tell me otherwise," he smiled. Justin smiled back at him and nodded. 

Brian carefully pushed the head of his penis inside the tight hole, and heard Justin gasp. "Hey. Relax," he whispered soothingly, and then caressed Justin's back lightly once again. Soon he felt Justin opening up to him, and slowly pushed himself deeper into Justin until he was all the way in. He threw his head back and moaned, amazed by how incredible this young man felt. 

"Ahh..." Justin moaned, as he felt himself be completely filled. 

Brian leaned forward and spread kisses all over Justin's back. "That's it," Brian whispered, as he felt Justin relaxing and adjusting to his size. He heard him sigh as he kissed and caressed his back, waiting for him to let him know when he was ready to continue. After a few moments, he felt Justin push his hips back a bit. 

"Are you ready?" he asked softly. 

"Yes. Fuck me," Justin replied. 

Brian pulled almost the whole way out of Justin, and then slowly pushed back in. He continued with that slow rhythm for a while, wanting to make sure he wouldn't hurt the blond. 

Justin met his thrusts and after a while, he wanted more. "Mmm... faster, Brian," Justin requested, and Brian was more than happy to oblige. He picked up the speed a bit and angled his cock just right so that he would bump Justin's prostate. 

"Like that?" Brian panted, fucking Justin faster and deeper now and hitting his sweet spot every time he plunged in. 

"Yes!" Justin breathlessly replied, loving every move Brian made inside of him. 

"You feel so good," Brian whispered. He was nipping, licking and kissing at any part of flesh he could reach. He felt his orgasm building, and by the noises Justin was making, he guessed he was close too. He reached around and grabbed a hold of Justin's throbbing, leaking member and started stroking it. 

That was all it took and Justin was cumming in Brian's hand. As he felt the tight hole contracting around his cock, his own orgasm was triggered, and he continued pounding into Justin until he finished riding it out, and then collapsed on top of his lover. 

"Mmmm," Justin purred, trying to catch his breath. 

Brian rolled off of him, and removed the condom, tossing it into the trash bin near the bed. He smiled at the freshly-fucked blond that lay next to him with a fully content expression, and then leaned in to kiss him. 

"You're amazing," he whispered, smoothing some hair away from Justin's sweaty forehead. 

"So are you," Justin smiled and kissed him again. "I really needed that," Justin sighed. 

Brian laughed. "Another satisfied customer," he joked. 

"You ain't kidding," Justin smiled. 

"Um... can I smoke?" Brian asked. 

Justin nodded. "Yeah. Let me just open the window. It gets really smoky in here when two people are smoking in this place," Justin explained, and quickly jumped out of bed to slide open the window, allowing the cool night air to breeze in. As his back was turned, Brian's eye caught sight of the bruise again. 

"Could you hand me my jacket? It's over on your love seat," Brian said, pointing to it. 

"Sure." Justin handed Brian his jacket, and watched him fish out his cigarettes and lighter from its front pocket. 

"You want one?" he offered, as he took one out of his pack. 

"I've got my own," Justin told him, and pulled out his pack of cloves. 

Brian watched Justin light up one of his clove cigarettes. "I used to smoke those once in a while when I was younger. Usually after sharing a joint with my friend, Mikey," Brian told him. 

"You want one?" Justin asked. 

"Sure, why not," Brian shrugged, and put his Marlboro back in its box. After lighting the offered clove and inhaling, he licked his lips, enjoying the spiced flavor that was left from the filter. 

Justin climbed back into bed, bringing an ashtray with him for them to share. They sat in comfortable silence for a moment as they smoked, each thinking of the events that evening. 

"Justin..." Brian said, bringing Justin out of his thoughts. "Can I tell you something without you getting pissed or thinking that I'm trying to tell you what to do?" Brian asked. 

"You're talking about what happened tonight with Alex," Justin said. 

Brian nodded. "I think you should think about getting a restraining order," he told him. "He seems unstable, and, well... I want you safe," Brian admitted. 

Justin smiled widely at Brian and leaned in to kiss him, tasting the clove on his lips. It made him feel good to know that Brian cared about what happened to him. 

"I'll think about it," he told him, leaning his forehead against Brian's. He nodded back at him, but wondered if Justin was really going to take him seriously. He had a feeling that the younger man was still in denial that Alex would do anything harmful to him. That might have been true, but Brian certainly wouldn't have put it past him. He didn't trust the guy. 

"Do you have anything going on tomorrow?" Brian asked, changing the subject. 

"Nope. I actually have tomorrow off. It's like the first time in months I've been able to have Saturday completely free," Justin told him. "What about you?" he asked. 

"Well, I have dinner plans... next door," Brian told him. 

"What?" 

"The munchers, my son, and I, were all invited to dinner over at Daniel and Alice's place tomorrow night," Brian explained. 

"Really? I had no idea." 

"You think you'll be able to make an appearance?" Brian asked. 

"Do you want me to?" Justin asked. 

Brian nodded. "I thought maybe you'd like to meet Gus," Brian told him. 

Justin smiled brightly at the man. "I would love that," he told him. He took the nearly finished cigarette from Brian's hands and put it out in the ashtray along with his own. He then pulled Brian close for a kiss, which the other man deepened. 

"You know you are damn good, but I was thinking that maybe I could show you some of my own oral techniques. What do you say?" Justin asked huskily. 

Brian didn't answer. He didn't need to. He just smiled, lay back on the bed, and pulled back the sheet that had been over him, to reveal his once again hard, cock. 

The two of them had a long, satisfying night as they each took turns showing off their best skills. 

The next morning, Brian awoke to knocking. He felt a weight on his chest and when he opened his eyes, and saw a mop of blond hair in front of him. He smiled. Justin seemed dead to the world. 

The knocking persisted. 

"Justin," Brian whispered, lightly shaking the man asleep on his chest. When he made no movement or showed any signs of waking up, Brian shook him again a little harder. 

" _Justin,_ " Brian called out again. 

"Huh," Justin grumbled sleepily. 

"Someone is knocking on your door," Brian told him. 

"They'll go away," Justin mumbled. 

"Justin," a voice called from outside. 

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Brian said. 

On cue, Brian heard the door being unlocked and it opened. 

"Justin, I'm sorry to wake you, but I have an emerg --" Katie froze as she spotted her adopted brother and half brother entangled in each other in Justin's bed. Justin was wide awake now, having heard the door open, and looked up at her a bit stunned, while Brian looked completely unfazed. 

"Oh... I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to, uh --" she stammered, her face blushing profusely. 

"Jesus," Justin muttered, and buried his face into Brian's chest, trying to hide his embarrassment. 

"Um, yeah... key," Katie said, holding up her copy of Justin's apartment key that he had given her for emergencies. "I knocked but there was no answer, Jay, and well, I was desperate --" 

"What's wrong?" he asked, suddenly worried. 

"Nothing too horrible, but my car won't start, and I have to be at the restaurant in 20 minutes for the morning shift. I know you have today off, and I wondered if I could borrow your car?" she asked hopefully. 

"Yeah, sure. Just don't change my radio stations again," he warned her. She laughed at him lightly and then made her way over to the bed to kiss his cheek. "Thanks," she said gratefully. Justin absently nodded, and then sat up and reached for his set of keys on his nightstand. He proceeded to unhook his car key from the key chain. 

"Oh, um... hey, Brian," she smiled, still a bit embarrassed to see them in bed, naked together. 

"Hey, Katie," Brian smiled back, amused by her reaction to seeing them together. 

Justin handed her the key, and she took it from him. "Thanks a lot, Jay. I owe you one," she said, her voice heavy with relief. 

"Oh yeah, the list is piling up, sis," he smiled, as he scratched his head. She giggled back, knowing that he enjoyed teasing her. 

"Well, I'll uh, let you guys get back to - yeah..." she trailed off, and then turned to walk out. 

"A pleasure to see you as always," Brian called out, as she shut the door behind her. 

Justin looked back at him, and then threw his head dramatically into the mattress and covered it with his pillow, letting out a loud, regretful groan. 

Brian only laughed at him. "Oh, come on, Justin. It's not that bad. It's not like she saw us fucking," he pointed out. 

"She might as well have!" Justin yelled from under his pillow. 

"Want me to kiss it better?" Brian asked, and reached his hands under the covers to rub Justin's morning wood. 

"Mmmm..." Justin replied. 

Brian then went to work, helping Justin to not be able to think about anything at the moment but him and his tongue, and how good they felt. 


	8. No Trick!

Justin answered the door, smiling when he saw Brian, and two women standing in front of him. The attractive blond woman was bouncing a baby in her arms, whom he knew must be Brian's son, Gus. On cue, the infant looked up at Justin with his big blue eyes and gave him a smile, causing Justin's heart to melt. He marveled at how beautiful the little baby was and noted that he could see a bit of a resemblance between father and son. 

"Hi," Justin grinned as he made eye contact first with Brian, and then his friends. "You must be Lindsay and Melanie," Justin said. 

"Yes, and this here, is Gus," Lindsay smiled back, as she looked down at her infant son, continuing to lightly bounce him. 

Justin nodded, his smile never faltering. "I'm Justin, come on in," he told them. 

Daniel and Alice suddenly appeared behind him, ready to greet their guests. Alice was already chattering away with the two women as she ushered them inside, while Daniel immediately reached for his grandson. 

Brian had purposely allowed them to enter the house first, wanting to take a private moment to give his new non-boyfriend a proper hello. It seemed that everyone had forgotten about the two of them, and were too busy talking with one another to notice that the two men hadn't followed them into the house. 

Justin stepped forward onto the doorstep and closed the door behind him just enough so that they wouldn't be seen by the others inside the house. He grinned at Brian, who seemed just as happy to see him. The older man leaned in, pulling him close against his body, and then captured his lips in a sensual kiss. 

"Just had to have a taste," Brian whispered seductively, after pulling away from the delicious lip lock. He felt his cock react, the kiss serving as a reminder of their previous activities that had taken place between them that morning and the night before. 

Justin smiled brightly back at Brian. "Mmm. Is that how you'll be greeting me from now on?" he purred. 

"If I can help it," Brian smiled back, and pushed his hard on against the blond to show him some encouragement. Justin chuckled as he felt Brian's erection against him. He really wanted to drag Brian someplace to take care of that, but knew that now was not really the time. 

"Come on. They're going to wonder where we are," Justin said. Brian rolled his eyes, but allowed Justin to take his hand and pull him into the house. 

The evening was turning out quite nicely. Daniel had decided barbecue some steaks, and Alice made a Cesar salad as well as her famous creamy mashed potatoes. Dinner was pronounced delicious, and after they ate, they all gathered in the living room to have a glass of wine and talk. 

Alice brought out the photo albums, wanting to show off their now grown-up children to their guests. Ordinarily, Brian would have cringed at the thought of looking through happy hetero family photos, but even _he_ had taken an interest in seeing pictures of his half brothers and sisters, and of course Justin, when they were young. Some of them were of Ryan or Peter holding up metals they'd won in wrestling matches. Some were of Katie from her ballet recitals. There were some of birthday parties. Mostly, though there were lots of family photos from vacations or various gatherings. They all looked really happy in the pictures, and Brian felt a sadness wash over him as he looked at each of them, wishing that he could have been a part of all of these memories. If only Daniel would have known he existed, he might have had a happy childhood too. While his brothers and sisters were living in a happy, healthy and loving environment, he was getting the shit beat out of him, sometimes daily, by Jack, while his alcoholic mother just stood by and let it happen. 

Brian's thoughts were interrupted when Alice suddenly said, "Oh, and here's one of Justin at the GLC. That was his first art showing," she gushed proudly, with a broad smile. 

Justin blushed, and covered his face to hide his embarrassment. "God, I look like such a dork!" he laughed. Brian chuckled in amusement, observing the only slightly younger-looking Justin, smiling brightly next to his displayed artwork. 

"How old were you in this picture?" Brian asked. 

"Fifteen," Justin answered. 

"Aside from the shorter hair you don't really look much older than you are now," Brian commented. 

Lindsay chuckled. "Are you jealous, Bri?" she teased. Melanie smirked, and Brian glared at both of them. 

"I was simply making an observation," he said, rolling his eyes. 

"He's right, Justin hasn't changed much. He looks almost the same as he did when he first came here to live with us," Alice said. 

Justin blushed more profusely. "Okay, let's move on to someone _else's_ picture now," he said. 

Brian gave him a devilish smile. "Actually, Alice, I'd like to see more photographs of our little ball of Sunshine, over here... preferably something really embarrassing that I can hold over his head," he said, sticking his tongue in his cheek, and then looking back at Justin, almost laughing at the glare he gave him. 

"I think Ryan may have those pictures stashed away for emergencies," Alice chuckled, and the rest of them laughed with her. 

Daniel watched the interaction carefully between Brian and Justin, noticing how comfortable they seemed around each other. 

"Anyone up for dessert?" Daniel asked. 

"That's right, there's some pecan pie and vanilla ice cream, if you guys are interested," Alice offered. 

"Sounds great," Lindsay smiled. 

Melanie nodded in agreement. "Make that two." 

"I'll get it," Daniel volunteered, just as Alice was about to get up. He looked over at Brian. "What about you, Brian?" he asked. 

"Oh, no," he answered. "But thanks," he added, smiling at Alice, hoping she wouldn't be offended that he was refusing her homemade pie. 

"Oh, come on. You know you want to," Justin told him. Brian shot Justin a knowing look. 

"No way. I don't eat carbs or fat after 7:00. Eating that piece of pie and/or ice cream would mean an extra hour on the StairMaster," he said. 

"Yeah, wouldn't want you to ruin your perfect figure," Melanie smirked. 

Brian shot her a look but didn't say anything. 

Alice then pulled their attention back to the photo album, and Justin stood up and walked over to Brian, and draped an arm around his shoulder casually. He then leaned into his ear and whispered very softly, "Fuck the StairMaster. I can think of much better ways to work it off." Brian felt his cock jump at that suggestion, and shifted uncomfortably where he was seated. Justin smiled back at him innocently, and Brian bit back a groan. 

Lindsay happened to glance over at the two of them then, and noticed the look that Brian and Justin shared, and smiled to herself. She'd have to ask Brian about that later. 

"Justin, why don't you help me with the dessert?" Daniel asked. 

"Sure," Justin said, and followed his adopted father into the kitchen. 

Daniel got the pecan pie and ice cream out of the fridge, while Justin got out some plates and silverware. 

"So, how long has this thing with you and Brian been going on?" Daniel asked casually. Justin froze and then turned around to look at him. 

"Daniel..." Justin paused, not sure what to say. 

"Well?" Daniel asked expectantly. 

"Did Katie tell you?" Justin asked. 

"No one had to tell me a thing. It's evident that there's something going on between the two of you, just by the way you are around one another. I can see that you care about each other," Daniel told him. "Well, that, and I saw Brian's Jeep parked in the driveway this morning," he added with a small smile. 

"Oh," Justin blushed. 

"Why didn't you say anything?" Daniel asked. 

"This thing with Brian and I... it's really new," Justin told him. 

"How new?" he asked, turning his attention to the dessert and cutting out several pieces of the pie to put on plates. 

"Well, last night was the first time we --" Justin paused, not sure how much he should reveal. He was pretty sure Daniel knew that he and Brian had slept together the night before. "-- came to an agreement," Justin finished, trying to hide his embarrassment, and hoped that he wasn't blushing again. 

From the look on Justin's face, Daniel got the gist of what that meant. Besides, he wasn't living in the dark ages. He cleared his throat. "I see," he answered. His brows then furrowed a bit. "I got the impression that Brian wasn't really the 'committed' type," he said thoughtfully. 

"He isn't. And I'm not asking him to be," Justin told him. 

Daniel gave him a confused look. 

"We're not serious. We're just dating, and we'll see where it goes from there," Justin said nonchalantly, dishing some ice cream onto the plates. 

"Justin..." Daniel said in a warning tone. 

"Daniel, it's okay. Don't worry about it, all right?" Justin said with a reassuring smile. "We like each other. There's no reason to rush into anything either of us may not be ready for," Justin explained. "Um, would you cut one more piece? Just a small one," Justin asked. Daniel smiled, knowing who the piece was for, and nodded. 

"So am I supposed to pretend that I don't know anything, or are you planning on telling the rest of the family about the two of you?" Daniel asked. 

Justin shrugged. "We haven't really discussed it." 

"I suggest you do, because from the way you two look at each other, it won't take very long for the others to put two and two together," Daniel said, setting the plates of dessert on a large tray to carry into the living room. "In fact, I'm fairly sure that Brian's friend, Lindsay, picked up on things as well," he added. 

Justin nodded. He hadn't thought it had been that obvious. He'd have to talk to Brian about it later. He wasn't sure how comfortable the other man felt about people knowing about them just yet. 

"I'll carry it," Justin insisted, and picked up the tray, and the both of them walked back into the other room to join the others. Daniel helped to hand out the plates. Justin took the plate with the smallest slice of pie and no ice cream, and handed it to Brian. The older man looked at him with a raised brow. Justin only smiled sweetly at him. He knew that Brian had wanted a piece. "I promise you won't regret it," Justin told him, hoping that he would get his double meaning. 

Brian smiled in understanding, and then picked up the fork and took a bite of his dessert, suppressing a moan at its delicious taste. Alice truly was a great cook. 

As the evening grew later, Lindsay and Melanie decided that they'd better get home. Brian had arrived in his own car earlier, telling the girls that he was probably going to go out and do something after dinner. Assuming he meant Babylon or Woody's, they had agreed to just follow him in their car so he wouldn't have to drop them off. 

They all walked Lindsay and Melanie to the door. Gus, who had been contentedly sleeping in his father's arms for the last half an hour, barely stirred when Brian kissed his hair, and whispered, "Night, Sonnyboy," before handing the infant over to Lindsay. Justin smiled, touched by the tenderness and love Brian showed toward his son. 

They said their goodbyes, and after the couple left, Justin made eye contact with Brian. He wanted him so bad he could taste it, and by the way Brian was lustfully staring back at him, he knew he wanted him just as bad if not more. 

"Are you heading out too, Brian?" Alice asked. 

"Um, yeah, I really should," he said, and then glanced at Justin. 

"Well, don't stay away for too long, young man. We love having you over," Alice said, giving Brian a hug and kiss on the cheek. He was surprised by this, but couldn't help but smile back at her. For some odd reason, this family really liked having him around, and though it was hard for him to grasp, he had to admit that it was a great feeling. He loved Debbie, but frankly, after years of her calling him an asshole and blaming him for everything that went wrong in Michael's life, he always felt like a disappointment to her. 

Neither Daniel nor Alice expected anything of him, and they hadn't judged him at all since they met him. In fact, they had willingly welcomed him into their home, family and lives almost as soon as they found out about him. He never knew such genuine people existed. It was refreshing. 

He still felt a little bit uncomfortable with all the love and affection these people freely gave to him, but in spite of himself, he realized that he didn't want to push them away. He wanted to really get to know them and maybe even grow to love them. Since meeting his father, they had already shared a connection, and he found that he cared for the man and his family, and now, amazingly enough he was slowly, but surely starting to think of the Jensons as his own family. 

Daniel hugged Brian, as they said goodbye. "Does this family have a hugging fetish?" Brian chuckled. 'At least they didn't cut off his circulation though,' he thought, Debbie's face flashing into his mind. She really liked to squeeze tight, and for such a small woman, she certain had a good strong grip. 

Daniel and Alice laughed at Brian's comment. "We're an affectionate family. Get used to it," Alice said, patting his back. 

Justin smiled, knowing that Brian really liked Daniel and Alice. He could see that Brian really seemed to let his guard down with the Jensons and appreciated them. His demeanor was different around them. He seemed more relaxed, and open. 

Justin felt Brian grab him in what appeared to be a goodbye hug. When he was about to pull out of the embrace, he felt Brian hold him firmly in place. 

"I'm going to fuck your brains out," Brian whispered, his hot breath against his ear. Justin's heart sped up and he felt a shiver go down his spine. He couldn't speak. 

"Meet me at the Jeep in five minutes," Brian told him, before releasing Justin from their hug, and then smiled at him, amused by the look on his face. He knew the younger man wanted him too, and it was confirmed as he saw him swallow, and then nod in agreement. 

Brian left the house and walked out to his Jeep. He started the engine, and smoked a cigarette as he waited. Within three minutes, Justin was opening the passenger door and climbing into the seat. Suddenly, their lips were crashing together in a heat of passion. 

"God, I've wanted you since the moment you showed up on the doorstep today," Justin panted. 

"Me too," Brian managed to get out between their kisses. 

Justin pulled away from Brian's embrace, his eyes full of lust. "Let's go." It almost sounded like begging, but he didn't care. Brian nodded, put his Jeep in gear, and headed straight for the loft. 

As soon as they stepped inside the door, Brian attacked Justin's mouth and desperately started peeling off the man's clothes, needing to feel his smooth, soft skin. Once he got Justin's shirt off, his mouth immediately moved towards the exposed neck, and he licked and kissed the parts that he had recently discovered to be Justin's erogenous zones. He smiled as he heard Justin moan his approval. 

"Let's take this in the bedroom, shall we?" Brian purred, rubbing his hand against Justin's bulging hard cock. 

Justin smiled and nodded, and then dove for Brian's mouth once again. Brian laughed at Justin's eagerness, and kissed him back as he led him to the bed, their lips never losing contact. As they stood at the edge of the bed, Brian quickly worked on removing his own clothing, while Justin pulled off the remainder of his. Brian moaned at the sight of Justin's beautiful naked body in front of him, his fully hard cock, just waiting to have his attention. 

He pushed Justin down on the bed roughly, making the blond growl with approval. He was feeling a bit feisty and didn't mind the aggressiveness at all; in fact, it turned him on even more. Justin was sure he'd never wanted to fuck so badly in his life. His chest was flushed pink at his arousal, and he lay on his back panting in anticipation of what Brian would do next. 

Brian towered over the younger man, a devilish smile playing across his lips, as he teasingly ran his index finger lightly down Justin's neck and chest. He watched in fascination Justin's expression, and felt him tremble under his touch. He then dipped down and lightly suckled on the younger man's right nipple, earning him a sharp gasp. Brian smiled at the reaction and could feel Justin's cock poking into his stomach as he flicked his tongue around the tit, making the small nub erect. 

Brian felt movement under him, and saw that Justin was attempting to touch himself, and slapped his hand. 

"Ah-ah-ah," Brian shook his head at him. "That belongs to me. No touching, understand?" he scolded. 

Justin sigh and nodded. He was so fucking hard it hurt, and his cock needed attention. He didn't know how long he could wait. Suddenly he felt Brian bite down on the nipple he'd been teasing, and cried out in pleasure. 

"Brian..." he begged, running his finger's through the man's auburn hair in encouragement as he continued his assault on him. After a couple of minutes of bathing and teasing both of Justin's nipples, Brian dragged his tongue down his torso, stopping to lick and kiss along the way as he kept moving further down. 

Justin wanted to scream his frustration. He was about to explode. Before he knew it, Brian was engulfing his cock, and he could have cried from relief. 

"Fuck!" 

Brian lifted his mouth from the head of Justin's dick, smiling as he looked up at him. "In all due time, Sunshine," he chuckled, and then licked the slit, tasting the pre-cum that had gathered there, eliciting another moan from the man under him. He started moving his mouth up and down the hard shaft, and with his tongue, he made sure to use every trick he knew that was known to drive men crazy. 

"God... please, Brian," Justin pleaded, and grabbed a hold of Brian's hair, giving it a tug. 

Brian pulled his mouth off of the spit slicked rod, and as his lips released the mushroom head, it made a pop sound. "Talk to me. What do you want?" he asked, his voice hoarse and full of lust. 

"Fuck me!" Justin begged. 

Brian smiled and shook his head. "Not yet," he told him, and pushed Justin's knees up so he could have easier access to his balls. He started tonguing one of his testicles and then sucked it into his mouth. 

"Ahhh!" Justin panted. "Brian, I'm going to cum if --" 

"No, you're not," Brian told him, suddenly stopping the task at hand, and firmly took hold of the base of Justin's dick, stopping the blood flow. "You know, you're not very well trained. We may have to see about getting you a cock ring," Brian smirked. 

"Roll over," Brian said softly. Justin was quick to obey, praying that Brian was finally going to fuck him now. He lay on his stomach, waiting, hoping to hear the sound of the cap popping on the tube of lube, or the tearing of a condom wrapper, but those sounds never came. He was about to say something, when he felt Brian lightly run his hands up and down his back soothingly, feeling himself relax under his touch. 

"Mmm, feels good," he whispered. 

Suddenly, Brian's lips were at his ear. "It's about to get better," he heard him whisper. Justin felt himself tense up again at the thought of what might next transpire. 

"Relax," Brian said, having felt the muscles in Justin's body stiffen under him. Once again, he started running his hands lightly over the smooth back until he felt Justin's body relax once again. "That's it," he whispered, and kissed the back of Justin's neck. He then started kissing his way all the way down to the base of Justin's spine. He grabbed the globes of Justin's ass, squeezing them gently, and then pulling them apart, exposing his hole. Brian licked his lips at the sight of the delicacy in front of him, and then slowly ran his tongue over it. 

"Oh God," Justin moaned. 

Brian buried his face in Justin's ass and went to work on giving him the best rim job of his life, swirling and lapping his tongue on the outside of his anus and then eventually plunging into him. He was lost in the taste and smell of Justin, the man's whimpering cries music to his ears and making him impossibly harder. His own cock had started leaking, and it was only the fact that he had years of practice sustaining control, that he hadn't yet cum himself. 

Brian decided that they had played enough, and it was time to get to the main event. He released his tongue from the quivering hole and then lightly planted a kiss on the right cheek, hearing Justin sigh. Whether it was a sigh of relief or protest, he wasn't sure. 

He turned Justin over so he was on his back, and then crawled up his body, and once he reached his lips, Justin wrapped his arms around him and hungrily attacked his mouth. It was so hot, so intoxicating, that Brian was willing to bet that either of them could have cum just from that kiss alone. As they kissed, Brian's hand made its way back down to Justin's ass, and he inserted his middle finger into the well lubed hole. 

'Finally!' Justin thought. "More," he moaned. 

Brian added another finger, and continued probing in and out, stretching him and readying him for his cock, as Justin rocked against his hand. 

Brian stopped kissing Justin so he could look into his eyes. "You want me?" he asked teasingly, snaking out his tongue and licking Justin's lower lip. 

"Yes," Justin told him, his eyes dilated. 

"You want me to fuck your tight, hot, little ass?" 

" _Yes_ ," Justin said urgently, firmly holding on to Brian as he ground his cock against his. 

"Hard?" Brian whispered against his ear, and then bit down on the lobe. 

"Christ! Yes. Fuck me, Brian. Do it," Justin demanded. 

Brian smiled. He finally reached for the ever present condom and lube and prepared the both of them. He lifted Justin's legs, resting them on his shoulders, and then positioned his cock at his entrance. When he pushed the head in, they both sighed. It felt so good, and Brian wanted nothing more than to ram into the tight opening, but was afraid he'd hurt the younger man. So instead, he inched his way inside Justin slowly and carefully, until he was completely embedded within him, and kissed the side of Justin's neck as he waited for him to adjust to his size. 

"Brian, fuck me," Justin whispered softly. 

Brian kissed him on the lips gently, and then pulled almost the whole way out of him, before plunging all the way back in. They both cried out in ecstasy, simultaneously amazed by how incredible the other made them feel inside and out. 

"You feel..." Brian started to say, and then withdrew and pushed his cock back in the warm, tight, channel. "You feel..." he repeated, and then felt Justin grip him from the inside and gasped. 

"Like heaven," Justin said, as if finishing Brian's thought. Brian smiled as he closed his eyes and nodded. 

Brian started fucking Justin faster, and his legs kept falling off Brian's shoulders, so he just wrapped them around his waist instead. 

"Yes," Justin hissed, as Brian continually hit his sweet spot inside him. Brian could tell that Justin was getting closer to climax, as his breathing changed. He was close as well, so he licked his palm, and then wrapped his hand around Justin's cock and started jerking him off. Only a couple of minutes later, Justin was shooting his cum into Brian's hand and onto his own chest. As Justin's hole spasmed and squeezed around his dick, Brian felt his own orgasm erupt, and he came with an animalistic growl that he'd never heard himself make. 

They held onto each other, their hearts beating rapidly as they tried to catch their breath. Brian looked over at Justin's face and saw that he was practically glowing. His face was flushed and sweaty and had a genuine look of satisfaction written all over it. 

"That..." Justin panted. "...was fucking..." Pant, pant. "...amazing!" he said, with a big smile. 

Brian smiled back at him, his own face clearly showing his agreement. He leaned in and kissed Justin's mouth, tasting a bit of the salty sweat that had previously formed above his upper lip. 

"And to think I might have gone to Babylon instead and missed out," Brian chuckled. Justin laughed and lightly swatted him on the arm. 

Brian sat up and started reaching for his cigarettes on the nightstand. He lit one and handed it to Justin, who gratefully accepted it, taking a much needed drag. He then lit himself one, and lay his head back on his pillow. They smoked in comfortable silence, both exhausted and probably a little too thoughtful. 

"Well, the pressure is definitely on now," Justin suddenly said, breaking the silence. Brian slightly frowned and looked at him questioningly. 

"See, once you have sex _that_ good, it makes every time after that difficult to measure up to. Now every time we fuck we'll have to work that much harder," Justin told him. 

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm definitely up for the challenge," Brian said, looking into his eyes. Justin thought he saw something else in those beautiful hazel eyes gazing back at him. Was Brian trying to tell him something? Was it some kind of silent declaration? He couldn't be sure. Brian Kinney wasn't an open book, and he still had a lot to learn about him. He decided to just let it go for now. He stubbed out his cigarette butt in the ashtray that Brian held out to him, and then he leaned in and kissed Brian's sweet lips once again. He couldn't get enough of them. 

"Take a shower with me?" he asked sweetly. 

Brian nodded his reply and stood up, pulling Justin with him towards the bathroom. 

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

The next morning, Brian was awakened by a warm wet mouth on his cock. He sleepily opened his eyes to see a blond head bobbing up and down on his dick, moaning as he watched Justin's mouth leave the head and then flick his tongue on the underside of it. 

Justin heard the moan, and looked up at Brian and made eye contact, and then smiled at him sexily, before sliding his mouth all the way down the engorged organ once again. 

"Fuck," Brian hissed. 

A few minutes later, Justin was sucking harder and faster, and before long, he felt Brian cum in his mouth, and he swallowed it all, loving its salty-sweet taste. 

"Come here," Brian growled, and Justin crawled up his body. Brian grabbed him behind his neck to pull his face to him, and kissed him deeply, moaning his approval as Justin shared with him a sample of his cum. He then grabbed hold of his young lover's cock, wanting to relieve his morning hard on. 

Justin moaned as he felt Brian stroking him, and things were just starting to get really hot and heavy when suddenly they were interrupted by a banging on the loft door. 

"Shit!" Brian said, clearly irritated. 

"Just ignore them," Justin panted. He was unbelievably turned on and wanted nothing more than for Brian to fuck him senseless. 

They heard more banging, and then a whiny voice call out, "Brian!" 

Brian released Justin's dick, and the blond looked at him like he'd lost his mind. 

"You can't ignore him. He's not going to go away," Brian explained, and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

"Who the fuck is it?" Justin asked, aggravated that it looked like he wasn't going to get off. 

"It's Mikey," Brian sighed, and got out of bed, quickly pulling on the jeans he had from the night before. 

Justin remained in the bed, trying to think if he was supposed to know who this Mikey person was, when he remembered that Brian had mentioned before that his best friend's name was Michael. That must be who was at the door. 

More banging. "Briiiiiaaaan!" 

"Hold the fuck on!" Brian shouted, as he hurried to answer the door. He slid the heavy metal door open to see an agitated Michael with his fist held up, presumably about to bang on the door again. 

Michael frowned at his best friend. "What the fuck took you so long?" 

Brian took a deep breath to calm himself so he wouldn't end up wrapping his hands around Michael's neck. At this point, he wasn't sure if he would be able to let go. 

"Michael, did it occur to you that maybe I was busy?" Brian said in an eerily calm voice, but his face said something totally different. 

"Doing what?" Michael asked, looking over Brian's shoulder to see if he had company. "Did you let a trick spend the night or something?" he asked. 

"What do you want?" Brian asked, ignoring his friend's inquisition. 

"You were supposed to meet Ted, Emmett and I for breakfast, remember? When you didn't show up, I got worried and thought I'd come check on you," Michael said, giving his puppy dog eyes. 

"Well, I'm fine, Mikey. It's a miracle. Now, if you don't mind..." Brian was about to shut the door in the other man's face, when he noticed Michael's eyes go wide as they followed an image moving behind him in the loft. Justin having emerged from the bedroom was going to start a pot of coffee, when he was unknowingly spotted by a jealous best friend. 

"Who's he?" Michael demanded. 

Justin looked over at Michael, surprised, but not intimidated. He went about his business filling the coffee pot with water and then started searching the cupboards for the coffee. 

Brian sighed, and thought he might as well get this over with. He opened the door wide, and motioned for Michael to come in. Michael wasted no time walking into the loft and stared at Justin as he continued to make his way around the kitchen. 

"Since when do you let tricks stay long enough to have coffee?" Michael asked Brian accusingly. 

That comment got Justin's attention and he spun his head around quickly to frown at Michael. 

" _Excuse me?"_ he asked, clearly offended. 

Michael rolled his eyes. "You didn't tell him about your one fuck only policy?" he asked Brian. 

Justin couldn't believe the audacity of this man. "Whoa, wait a minute --" 

"Look, Boy Wonder, you might as well know right now that Brian is not your boy --" 

"Michael, shut the fuck up," Brian said, cutting him off. 

Michael gave Brian an annoyed look. "What? Someone has to tell him, since you obviously didn't. Look at him, he's rumbling around your kitchen like he's a live-in guest, for God's sake!" Michael exclaimed. 

That was the last straw and Justin made his way over to where Michael was standing. Brian saw the angry look on Justin's face and knew it could get ugly, but at the same time was curious as to how he would handle this. 

"First of all, my name is not Boy Wonder, it's Justin. Second of all, who I am, why I'm here, or what goes on between Brian and me, is none of your fucking business," he told him sternly. 

"Right. We've been best friends for 15 years. He _is_ my business. All you are to him is just another notch in his belt," Michael smirked. 

"That's enough, Mikey," Brian told him. 

Justin looked over at Brian, wondering if he was going to defend him, their relationship, or whatever it was they were to each other. He looked over at Michael, who was giving him a smug look. 

"Well, if that's what Brian thinks of me, then he can say it, and I will graciously leave you to him and go home," Justin said. He turned back and looked at Brian expectantly and waited for him to say something. 

Brian felt the heat of the spotlight as both men stared at him. He knew he had to come clean about Justin. He just didn't expect it to happen like this. He had hoped to ease into it. This thing between them, whatever it was, had just barely started, for fuck's sake. He looked over at his best friend. 

Here went nothing. 

"Mikey... Justin is not a trick," he admitted. 

Michael looked at him, confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked. 

Brian walked over to Justin and put his arm around him. Justin gratefully leaned into him, relieved that Brian was going to tell the truth about him. 

"I'm saying that Justin and I..." Brian paused, not sure now to word it. "Well, he is..." He took another breath and started again. "See, we -- " 

"We're seeing each other," Justin finished, looking Michael in the eye. 

Michael stared at them in disbelief and then started laughing. Justin looked at Brian, whose expression looked like he wanted to bury his head underground. In the meantime, Michael was laughing so hard he had tears coming out of his eyes. 

"Is there a camera in here somewhere?" he asked, looking around the loft. "That's really a good one, Brian. You really got me this time," he said, shaking his head. 

"It's true, Michael. Justin and I are seeing each other," he told him. 

Michael's face sobered up, and he looked from one man to the other, seeing that neither of them were cracking a smile. They were being serious. 

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked Brian, hurt evident in his face. 

"It just sort of happened. It's still new..." 

"How the fuck does that happen? All these years you don't believe in relationships and now, suddenly you have a boyfriend?" Michael frowned. 

"I'm not his boyfriend," Justin corrected. 

Michael's brows furrowed in confusion. "But you just said..." 

"It's an open relationship, Mikey. I'm still going to fuck other guys. The difference with him is, he isn't a trick, and he gets the privilege of getting fucked by me as many times as he wants," Brian said, looking at Justin, who couldn't help chuckling. 

Michael stared at the two of them, their arms wrapped around each other, and suddenly felt like the room was closing in on him. He never imagined that Brian would ever want to be with anyone like this. In fact, he had held out hope that _he_ would be the one that Brian would have that type of relationship with, eventually. Because he and Brian had always meant something to each other, and he knew that no one else would ever get him, care about him... love him, like he did. 

"I've gotta go," Michael said quietly. 

"Mikey..." 

"No, really. I've got to meet David. Um, I'll see you tonight?" 

Brian nodded in agreement. 

Michael nodded back, and then let himself out. 

Justin looked at Brian, not quite able to read the expression on his face. Was that guilt? 

"Is he going to be okay?" Justin asked. 

"Yeah." 

"What's tonight?" 

"Sunday dinner at his mother's house. The whole family gets together every week there for dinner," Brian explained. 

"Oh, shit." 

"Yeah." 


	9. Unsupported

  
Author's notes: Sorry for the wait on the new chapter. Hope you enjoy.   


* * *

Brian walked into the Novotny residence without knocking, as he had done for years, and hung up his coat. He was always the last one to arrive, and knew that the rest of the "family" was already there. Suddenly, he heard Michael's voice carrying from the kitchen, and he inwardly groaned. The conversation taking place was exactly what he had expected, and now he had to keep himself from running right back out the door, unnoticed. 

"And then the little shit tried to get in my face and tell me that Brian was none of my business! I couldn't believe the nerve of that fucking twink," Michael said angrily, apparently still upset from his encounter at the loft earlier. 

"Are you sure you aren't misinterpreting things?" Melanie asked. 

Michael shook his head. "I'm telling you, Brian's been brainwashed. That's the only explanation," he insisted, and took a bite of some of his garlic bread. 

"Come on, Michael, don't you think you're being a bit over dramatic?" Emmett said. 

"I don't know, Em. Brian Kinney, actually said he's _seeing_ someone? I think Michael may have a point. Maybe this guy _did_ brainwash Brian or maybe even gave him some kind of "E" that made him believe he wanted to be in a - dear God, dare I even say it -- relationship?" Ted said, incredulously. 

"I, for one, think it's great. It's about time Brian finally met someone and had a relationship," Lindsay said. 

Brian chose that time to let his presence be known. "Would you please stop throwing the "R" word around? There are children present," Brian said, putting his arm around Michael's shoulder and giving it a little squeeze, and then walking over to where Melanie held a sleeping Gus in her arms, and kissing his forehead. 

"Fuck off," Michael said, glaring at his best friend. 

As expected, Debbie immediately started in on Brian. "So what the fuck is this I hear about you _seeing_ someone, and when were you planning on telling us?" she demanded. 

Brian only forced a smile and walked over to his surrogate mother and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Nice to see you too, Deb," he said, and then sat in the empty seat next to Vic, who was smirking at him knowingly. 

He felt all eyes on him and knew they expected a response. "David, would you please be so kind as to pass me the Rigatoni?" Brian asked with fake enthusiasm and the smile to go with it. 

David's expression was blank, but it was obvious to those who paid attention that he was annoyed by all the fuss over Brian and whatever drama he had going on in his life... yet _again_. He sighed, and handed the dish of pasta over to Brian and gave him a brief polite half-smile. 

"Pass the Rigatoni? That's _all_ you're going to say?" Debbie frowned, her hand on her hip. 

Brian spooned the food from the dish onto the plate in front of him, not saying anything in response, hoping that if he ignored them long enough they would let it go. It worked about 8 times out of 10. 

"You should know better than to expect a straight answer from him, Ma," Michael said bitterly, and pretended to be interested in his own food on his plate, but was really just poking it around with his fork. 

Brian laughed. "What's the big fucking deal? It's not like I'm getting fucking married. You'll be relieved to know that I still plan on making frequent trips to the back room to get sucked off and will still be fucking plenty of nameless tricks; but then again, I'm not even sure _why_ it is you all fucking give a shit what I do in the first fucking place," Brian said, looking at all of them. 

"What do you know, something we actually agree on," David chimed in, and Michael shot him a look. Brian only smirked. 

"Well, you can't blame us for being curious, Brian," Lindsay said. "For years you've built your reputation as someone who doesn't believe in love or dating, only fucking, and now you're actually opening yourself up and offering more than that to someone." 

"Yeah, let's see how long that lasts," Melanie mumbled. 

"Should we start taking bets now?" Ted added, sharing a chuckle with Melanie. 

Vic, who had been quiet up until now, finally spoke up, asking the obvious question on everyone's mind. "So, are you going to tell us about this man who has remarkably tamed the beast?" he asked. 

Emmett put his arm around Vic's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. "Just what I love in a man; someone who gets right on down to business," he chuckled, and kissed Vic on the cheek. 

"Meet me in my bedroom in 15 minutes," Vic joked. 

"I'd love to, honey, but then I'd miss the scoop on Brian's new beau!" Emmett said, and then looked at Brian. "Now stop keeping us in suspense! Tell us about this mystery man!" Emmett urged, his face excited and giddy. "Where did you guys meet?" he asked. 

"You know, you all have no life, it's pathetic," Brian answered, and drained the glass of wine that Vic had poured for him when he first sat down at the table. As soon as he put the glass down, Vic immediately refilled the glass, hoping that liquor might entice him to do more talking. 

Brian smirked at the man, knowing what he was trying to do, though it was really pointless. Even while drunk, he was very good at being secretive. Of course there were the occasional times that he let some things slip while under the influence, but it took a whole lot more than a couple of gulped glasses of wine to do that. 

He couldn't believe they were all making such a big deal over this. He sighed, deciding that he might as well just tell them, since they were going to find out eventually anyway. 

"He's a bartender over at O'Connell's. That's where I first met him," he finally answered, and then took another drink of his wine. 

Ted looked thoughtful. "O'Connell's... isn't that the restaurant that your biological father owns?" he asked. 

"Score one, for Theodore," Brian answered dryly, and took a bite of his food. 

Melanie frowned, and then as if something had just dawned on her, she looked up at Brian and said, "Are you talking about Justin? It's him, isn't it?" While she and Lindsay had been talking with Daniel and Alice about their children, she remembered them mentioning that both Justin and Katie worked at their restaurant. 

Brian looked up at Melanie and didn't say anything, but the expression on his face confirmed the answer. 

Lindsay smiled, knowing that she had been right in her observation of the two men the previous night. She hadn't said anything to Mel, but she'd had a feeling that she was right. Brian and Justin looked so at ease with one another, and there had been a definite vibe in the air. 

"You know him?" Michael asked Melanie with a frown. 

"We met him at Daniel and Alice's house last night," Lindsay explained. 

"But why would he be --?" Michael started to ask, when Brian cut him off. 

"Christ, Mikey, he's their adopted son, okay? Satisfied?" he snapped. 

"No," Michael pouted, complete with his arms folded across his chest. David shook his head at his partner's behavior. He was really starting to resent Michael's obscene jealousy when it came to Brian, and wished he would just get the fuck over it, already. 

"So when do we get to meet him?" Emmett asked. 

Brian only laughed. 

Debbie walked over to Brian and held his chin with her hand. "You can't hide him from us forever, kiddo," Debbie said with a menacing smile. 

"One can only hope," Brian told her, smiling back sweetly. 

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Justin was just stepping out of the shower when he heard his cell phone start to ring. He looked at the caller ID and smiled before answering. 

"Hey." 

"Hey yourself. Miss me?" 

"Always." 

"You're just saying that." 

"Yeah, I am." 

"Sooo... anything new?" 

Justin sighed. "Shit. You know, don't you?" 

"I have no idea what you're talking about." 

"Right. Ryan, how well do I know you?" Justin laughed. 

"No, I think the question is, how well do you know my evil twin," Ryan pointed out. 

"Yeah, Katie and her big mouth." 

"What, was she supposed to keep this thing with you and Brian a secret or Something?" 

Justin frowned. "No, it's just that I wasn't really in any hurry on the rest of the family knowing yet." 

"You mean you weren't in any hurry to tell Peter," Ryan laughed. 

"Well... you know how he is. And he's already really wary of Brian," Justin said. 

"There's no way around it, Jay. Peter is protective of his family." 

"Well, Brian is his family too. Who knows? Maybe he won't have much to say about it." 

There was a short silence, and then they both started laughing, knowing that it wasn't likely that their brother would just let this slide without a fight. 

"So how in the Hell did this happen and why wasn't I the first to know?" Ryan demanded. 

"The only reason Katie found out was because she walked in on us," Justin pointed out. 

Ryan laughed. "Oh, I can just imagine the look on her face. Priceless, I'll bet." 

"Funny, that's what Brian called it. I, on the other hand, wasn't so amused." 

"You always did get embarrassed easily," Ryan laughed. 

"Fuck off." 

"Don't change the subject. It's time for you to get to the part where you tell me what exactly is going on between you and Brian. I have to be honest though; it's hard to imagine him giving in to the title of 'boyfriend' just yet," Ryan said, skeptically. 

Justin sighed. "We're not boyfriends. We're dating - getting to know each other, and we'll see where things go from there," Justin stated casually. 

"Uh-huh," Ryan said dryly, obviously not buying into it. "And what happens when you've reached beyond the point of 'just dating', and start falling for him?" Ryan asked. 

"Ry..." 

"Don't you dare fucking say not to worry. You know know what I'll say to that." 

"Look, Brian and I have talked about this, and we both know what the deal is. It doesn't make sense to worry over something that hasn't even happened. We don't know if this arrangement will work out. Only time will tell," Justin told Ryan. 

"Jay, listen. Brian and I are alike -- too alike. You remember what happened with Luke and I? No one was supposed to get hurt, but unfortunately, he let it get personal. He was a really good fuck and we had a great time together, but that's all it was to me. Nothing more, nothing less. I have a feeling that Brian feels the same way about your situation." 

Justin didn't want to hear what his adopted brother was telling him. His relationship with Brian was different than Ryan and Luke's. He could tell that there was something there. The way that Brian kissed him, touched him. Hell, he'd already confessed that Justin wasn't just a trick to him, and had been willing to negotiate on the terms of their relationship. He wasn't expecting anything from Brian, but he did like him, and he hoped that whatever was going on between them would continue to grow. 

"The arrangement between Brian and I is not the same as what you and Luke had," Justin told him. 

"Okay, then let me just ask you this. Are you in this just for fun, Justin? Or are you hoping for something more?" Ryan asked. 

"Would you just lay the fuck off? It is what it is, all right? Just leave it at that," Justin said defensively. 

"Okay, fine. Whatever you say," Ryan replied. 

Justin suddenly felt guilty for snapping at his best friend. He knew that Ryan was only trying to look out for him, and didn't want him to have to go through any more hurt. He'd been there through all the other disastrous relationships Justin had had. "Ry, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I can handle it," Justin said. 

"Let's just hope that there'll be nothing to handle." 

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

David sat quietly at the bar, sipping on his Coors Lite, and observing the handsome and friendly blond bartender as he worked. He'd been sitting there for about an hour, pretending to be interested in the football game that was playing on the television, but really, he could care less about what was going on or what the score was. 

He just had to come see for himself, the man whom Brian Kinney was supposedly dating. He was surprised, to say the least when he saw Justin. The man was very good looking, but he wasn't at all the type of guy he would have guessed Brian would be with. He'd expected Justin to be tall, dark and muscular, and his personality to be cocky and vain. Someone who was like Brian. Instead, he'd turned out to be innocent looking, with those longish blond locks and baby blue eyes. He had a killer smile and was friendly. David also noted that Justin seemed to be a real people person, noticing that everyone he came into contact with liked him. He wondered just how old Justin was. He looked young enough to still pass as a high school student. 

David was puzzled. He had never known Brian to go after someone like this young man before. It made this whole situation even more peculiar to him. He drained his beer, and continued watching Justin as he busily worked the room, listening in as he spoke to the customers or the other employees, and observing their interactions. 

David couldn't believe that this guy would even give Brian the time of day! His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as the man he'd been wondering about came over to him. 

"Can I get you another drink?" Justin asked with smile, a piece of his blond hair slightly hanging over his left eye. David felt his cock twitch. This young man was indeed sexy. 

"Uh, sure," he answered, smiling back. 

"All right, coming right up," Justin told him, and David couldn't help but watch that perfect ass as the person attached to it walked away to get him his beer. 

It got later, and there were fewer people in the bar now, and David was almost on his way to being drunk at this point. He had been debating on whether or not he should try to talk to Justin about Brian. Now that there weren't as many customers around, he thought the timing couldn't be better. He saw Justin wiping down the unoccupied side of the bar, and waved at him to get his attention. Justin put down the rag and went over to him. 

"Another drink or are you calling it a night?" he asked. 

"No, I'm done, thanks. I'll go ahead and pay the tab," David said with a small smile. Justin nodded at him and then walked away to retrieve the bill, and he came back a minute later, and gave it to him. David glanced at it and then took out $50 from his wallet and handed it over to the younger man. 

Justin was surprised by the amount of the tip this man was giving him, but just smiled and said, "Thank you." He'd noticed the man watching him the last couple of hours and wondered if he was hoping to pick him up. He inwardly shuddered at the thought. Not that the man was really unattractive, but he wasn't really Justin's type, not to mention this guy was probably about 20 years his senior. 

"You're welcome. I'm David by the way," the man said. 

Justin inwardly sighed. This man _was_ trying to pick him up. 

"I'm not hitting on you," David assured him, having seen the uncomfortable look on the blond's face when he had introduced himself. 

Justin blushed and gave a nervous laugh. "Oh. Sorry, it's just that I --" 

"-- have a boyfriend?" David finished, giving him an amused look. 

"Well not exactly..." 

David nodded. "Sorry, I'm not trying to be a jerk, here. I just have to ask... what in the world would a nice, young man like yourself see in a bastard like Brian Kinney?" he asked. 

Justin looked at David stunned, wondering how this stranger knew about his relationship with Brian. 

"How did you --" 

"I'm Michael's partner." 

Justin stared at him, not able to think at that moment who the Hell Michael was. 

"You know, Michael, Brian's best friend?" 

Recognition suddenly hit him, and he smirked. "Oh, right. Mikey." He thought he saw David flinch at the nickname Brian used for his best friend. When he noticed David staring at him expectantly, waiting for his answer, he started to feel a bit uncomfortable. 

"What's not to see?" Justin said, defiantly, not willing to explain himself or his feelings about Brian. 

"Don't even get me started," David huffed. 

Justin crossed his arms over his chest. "Now, it's my turn to ask you... why do you care so much about what I see in Brian?" he asked. 

"How long have you known him?" 

"I don't see what that has to do with anything." 

"It has a lot to do with everything, because if you knew him well, you'd know what an asshole he is, and you'd be skeptical about this ridiculous charade he's playing." 

Justin frowned at the man. It was obvious that David disliked Brian. He wondered what this man's agenda was, and suddenly got angry. 

"I don't know what it is you think you're trying to do, but one thing is for sure; you don't know what the fuck you're talking about," Justin said, looking David in the eye, sternly. 

"Look, I'm not trying to ruffle your feathers. I don't know what line of pitch he gave you to make you believe that he could be sincere about whatever it is you two have going on, but I'm telling you now, it's bullshit, and I felt I had to warn you that Brian Kinney is a manipulative, selfish prick. He's the whore of Liberty Avenue and the biggest asshole I know. Him being in a relationship with anyone is unheard of, and until you came along he loathed the idea of it. This all just doesn't add up, and there's only one explanation. He's using you, Justin." 

"You know what? I'm not going to stand here and defend anything to you, and I really don't appreciate you coming here to lay in on me about something that has absolutely nothing to do with you. My relationship with Brian is no one's business but his and mine, and if you have a problem with that, then that's just too fucking bad." Justin dug out some dollar bills from his jeans, and threw it on the bar. "I don't need your money. Now, I want you to go," Justin told him. 

"Justin, I don't think you understa --" 

"You heard him, Doc. Now it's time for you to leave." 

They both turned and were surprised to see Brian standing at the end of the bar. David met Brian's stare for a moment and then got up to leave, both of them sharing a glare before he finally left. Once he was gone, Brian walked over to Justin, who was flushed. It was obvious he was upset. 

"I thought maybe you'd like a ride home," Brian said. 

"How much of that did you hear?" Justin asked. 

"Enough." Brian looked down at the money Justin had thrown on the bar. "Take the tip. Think of it as payment for his fucking audacity." 

Justin huffed out a short laugh, and reluctantly put the bills back into his pants pockets. He then looked up at the clock. He was off in less than five minutes. 

"Let me start closing things down in here, and then I'll take you up on that ride." 

"I was hoping you'd say that," Brian smirked, and then leaned in to kiss Justin's lips. Justin blushed a bit from the insinuation, and felt his cock harden. God, what this man did to him! 

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

They decided to go back to Brian's loft, instead of Justin's place. It was better that way, since they'd be away from the prying eyes of certain family members. They were already under the scope enough as it was. The car ride on the way to the loft had been mostly quiet until something occurred to Justin. 

"Brian, how did David find out where I work?" he asked. 

Brian sighed. "Because of me." 

Justin gave him a surprised look. "What?" 

"Just as I suspected, Michael told everyone what happened when he came to the loft and all about the little confrontation you two had. Last night, when I arrived for Sunday dinner, the family kept grilling me about you. They wanted to know where you and I had met. To get them to shut up and leave me the fuck alone, I told them you were a bartender at O' Connells," Brian explained. 

"You told your family about me?" Justin asked, trying not to smile. 

"Like I said, it was either tell them something or never have peace and quiet. If I would have known though that the Good Doc was going to stalk you to tell you about all my evil deeds, then I would have kept my fucking mouth shut," Brian told him. 

"It's okay, Brian. I really don't care what he says. Like I told him, it's none of his business." 

Brian nodded, and Justin was quiet for a moment before speaking again. "Why do people think it's so wrong for us to be doing this?" he asked. 

Brian looked over and met Justin's eyes. "Because they all expect me to fuck it up," he said. 

"God, everyone needs to just stay the Hell out of it," Justin huffed. 

Brian looked at Justin, surprised. "Do Daniel and Alice know?" he asked. 

"Daniel picked up on things the other night when you were there. I'm not sure if Alice knows, but Ryan knows because Katie just HAD to tell him." 

"Are they giving you a hard time about it?" 

"Not really. They're just concerned, is all. They all saw what I went through with Alex, and they just don't want me to get hurt again," Justin explained. 

"That's understandable. They're just looking out for you. You're lucky to have people that care about you that much," Brian said, his eyes straight ahead on the road. 

"They care about you too, Brian. I know you haven't been in their lives that long, but they already think of you as family," Justin told him, and lightly caressed the back of Brian's neck as he drove. After a moment, he moved his hand to rest on Brian's thigh. 

Brian didn't say anything in response to the Jensons thinking of him as family. He didn't really want to think about that right now. He was still sorting out his feelings where his new family was concerned. That being said, the moment he felt Justin's hand on his thigh, he was extremely grateful for the distraction. As soon as Brian had felt Justin's touch, his dick immediately sprang to attention, and then nothing else mattered at that moment, as all he could think about was how he couldn't wait to get back to the loft and fuck Justin's brains out. 

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Brian attacked Justin's lips and immediately led him into his bedroom. He'd been thinking about fucking him all day, and couldn't wait to sink his cock inside that tight, perfect, ass. Much to Brian's satisfaction, Justin seemed just as eager to have him buried inside him, and as soon as their clothes were stripped, he wasted no time getting on all fours and sticking out his ass so that Brian could prepare him. 

"Eager, are we?" Brian chuckled, but couldn't deny that he wanted Justin just as badly as he wanted him. 

"Fuck, yes, I've been thinking about this all day. Now hurry up!" Justin urged. 

"Ohh, a bossy little bottom," Brian smiled, and lightly smacked the blond's ass. A surprised Justin immediately turned around, his face flushed. 

Brian gave him a devilish grin. "Oh, you like that?" he asked, and gave the ass in front of him another smack, only harder this time. Justin groaned, the sting spreading a warm feeling across his skin. He'd never played like this, and had no idea he'd like it. 

Brian felt himself grow harder. 'So, Justin liked to play?' he smirked to himself. He smiled, thinking about how much fun they could have with that later, and lubed up his fingers before inserting them into the winking hole in front of him. Justin gasped and Brian leaned over the younger man's back and put his lips to his ear. 

"That is definitely something we can explore another time. Right now though, I want to fuck you into the mattress," he whispered. 

Justin rocked against Brian's fingers and moaned. "Do it," he hissed. 

Brian removed his fingers, slipped a condom over his dick, and then placed it at Justin's entrance. "Brian, fuck me," the younger man pleaded. Brian didn't have to be told twice and immediately started pushing into the tight, warm, tunnel. 

Brian fucked him slowly at first, wanting to savor each stroke of passion that felt so fucking great. It became more difficult to control though, once Justin started bucking back against him, meeting every thrust, and demanding that he fuck him harder and faster. Brian did. 

When they both finally came, they were out of breath and dripping with sweat. Justin lay his head on Brian's chest, listening to the man's rapid heart beat, and ran his hands lightly up and down his torso, not wanting to stop touching him. Brian smiled down at him and kissed him softly on the lips. "That was fucking hot," he whispered. 

Justin nodded and smiled back at him. "I can't believe that every time we..." Justin paused and then stopped to think about what he was saying. This was exactly the kind of stuff he knew Brian was turned off by. He wanted to say that it amazed him that every time they made love, that their connection was stronger. Somehow though, he didn't think Brian would appreciate his sappy pillow talk right after the intense fuck they had just shared. 

"What were you going to say?" Brian asked, running his fingers through Justin's slightly damp hair. He loved the length of it, and how silky it felt on his skin. 

"Just that every time seems to be better than the last," Justin said truthfully, knowing that it was a better alternative than what he had originally wanted to say. 

"I have noticed that," Brian said with a chuckle. "I think this arrangement is working out just fine," he smiled, and then Justin lifted his head up for another soft kiss. 

"I think you're right," Justin whispered in between kisses. 

They continued to kiss softly, occasionally nipping at the other's lips playfully, until Brian took it upon himself to deepen their kisses. Before long they were both hard again and ready for a second round. This time though, they went slower, and took their time. Brian kissed, teased, licked and sucked Justin all over his body, driving him wild, and eventually bringing him to the point of begging the man to fuck him again. Brian happily obliged. 

After they'd showered and climbed back into bed to get some actual sleep, Brian found himself spooning himself behind Justin. He lightly stroked the younger man's bare arm with his fingertips, and after a few moments, he realized that this was the first time he'd shown this kind of affection to another man. It wasn't something he was used to, but it didn't exactly feel wrong at the moment, either. 

"Justin?" he whispered softly. 

"Hmm?" Justin asked, sleep about to take over him. 

"The things David told you about me - they're not all true." 

"I know," Justin murmured, as he snuggled back into Brian's chest. Not a minute later, he was fast asleep, leaving Brian alone with his thoughts. 


End file.
